Department for Transport

Roads: Lighting

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will issue guidance to local authorities when considering cost-saving measures that they should make an assessment of the potential effect on (a) road safety and (b) safety of pedestrians of turning off street lighting.

Trudy Harrison: Local highway authorities such as East Riding of Yorkshire Council, have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the public highways in their charge, including street lighting. Authorities do not have a duty to light their network but, where lighting has been provided, have a duty to maintain it.Whilst it is for each local highway authority to decide the level of service they wish their street lighting network to deliver, it is important that local authorities consider the safety implications, cost, and environmental savings before reducing the hours of operation, or dimming lighting levels within their area. The Department advises councils to monitor the impacts following any street lighting reduction to ensure they can reverse any changes if the need arises. Local authorities should also liaise closely with the emergency services, community safety, and other key partners when considering their lighting needs and policy.

Network Rail: Land

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to dispose of surplus Network Rail land in accordance to the updated Cabinet Office guidance, Government Functional Standard GovS 004: Property.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Network Rail have robust management, governance and assurance systems to ensure property disposals meet government standards. Cabinet Office have recently updated the Government Property Functional standards and they will be working with Departments to conduct functional assurance in the coming months in order to ensure all property work undertaken by Departments and their delivery bodies continues to meet the updated standards.

Leamside Railway Line

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the potential economic benefits to the (a) North East and (b) UK of reopening the Leamside Line.

Chris Heaton-Harris: In January 2020 the Government pledged £500 million for the Restoring Your Railway programme to deliver on our manifesto commitment to start reopening lines and stations to reconnect smaller communities, regenerate local economies and improve access to jobs, homes and education. The bid for the Leamside Line to the third round of the Ideas Fund was unsuccessful. My Officials have provided feedback on the scheme and advice on alternative funding routes to the Hon Member and her colleagues

Department for Education

Pupils: Sanitary Protection

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the free period product scheme for schools.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) secondary schools, (b) primary schools and (c) post 16 colleges and further education institutions have ordered free period products through his Department's scheme to date in 2021.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times his Department has communicated with schools regarding the free period product scheme for schools in England.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to communicate with schools regarding the free period product scheme.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to help increase the up-take of the free period product scheme for schools.

Will Quince: The Department for Education’s period product scheme launched in January 2020 and, by the end of 2020, 76% of secondary schools and 79% of post-16 organisations had ordered at least once. These organisations have older students and therefore are more likely to have a higher proportion of students in scope, compared to primary schools. Further statistics regarding the first year of the scheme’s operation can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/979265/Period_Products_Scheme_January_2021_v2__.pdf. Take up of the scheme is monitored regularly by the department and our supplier, phs, and we will consider opportunities to publish further management information in the future. All schools and colleges were provided with information on how to place orders for the scheme when it launched in 2020, and again in January 2021. We continue to work with our delivery partner phs to encourage engagement with the scheme. For example, in March 2021 the department ran a new social media communications campaign to raise the profile of the scheme amongst pupils, parents and schools. No one should be held back from accessing education due to their period, and we are considering what further work we can do, including with local authorities, to ensure that all organisations across England are aware of the scheme. Organisations do not have to use this scheme to acquire period products if they prefer to use an alternative route to make them available.

Carers: Young People

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help local authorities (a) identify, (b) assess and (c) support young carers.

Will Quince: The Children and Families Act 2014, amended the Children Act 1989 to place a duty on local authorities to assess the needs of young carers. The duties have remained in place throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Local authorities must ensure young carers are identified and referred to appropriate support if needed, and that the young carers are not taking on excessive or inappropriate care and support responsibilities. This provision works alongside those for assessing adults in the Care Act 2014, to enable whole family approaches to assessment and support.On 7 September 2021, we announced investment of an additional £5.4 billion over three years in social care, which includes a commitment to take steps so that unpaid carers have support, advice and respite fulfilling the goals of the Care Act 2014. We will work with the sector, including unpaid carers to develop more detail on our plans and publish further detail in a White Paper for reform later this year. We have also provided councils with access to over £1 billion of additional funding for social care in the 2021/22 financial year. This will support councils to maintain care services while keeping up with rising demand and recovering from the impact of COVID-19.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will amend the school system for the recording of pupil absences to distinguish between pupils who are absent due to illness and those pupils who are absent because of a requirement to self-isolate.

Mr Robin Walker: Schools decide how they record sessions in the attendance register in line with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended.In time for September 2020, we introduced a new category into the regulations to record sessions where a pupil does not attend school because their travel to or attendance at school would be contrary to public health guidance from the UK Health Security Agency and the Department for Health and Social Care. Schools record these missed sessions using Code X (not attending in circumstances relating to COVID-19).Where a pupil cannot attend school because they are ill or have any infectious illness, including testing positive for COVID-19, in line with the Regulations, schools will record sessions as Code I (illness).

Pre-school Education: Finance

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much was (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on government-funded childcare provision for 3 and 4 year olds in each of the last 5 financial years.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much was (a) budgeted for and (b) spent  on government-funded childcare provision for 2 year olds in each of the last 5 financial years.

Will Quince: The government allocates funding for the early years entitlements in line with the number of places that are taken up.The expenditure figures are as follows:Early years dedicated schools grant allocation2017-18 Final2018-19 Final2019-20 Final2020-21 Initial2021-22 Indicative3-4 year old universal hours£2,302.6 million£2,286.7 million£2,278.5 million£2,310.9 million£2,338.2 million3-4 year old additional hours£404.6 million£743.7 million£807.0 million£840.3 million£850.4 million2 year old£469.7 million£449.1 million£433.8 million£434.5 million£440.8 million Please note that final allocations for 2020-21 and 2021-22 are not yet available.

Adoption

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on women of the policy of forced adoption during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Will Quince: The government has great sympathy for those affected by historical adoption practices. Our hearts go out to the parents and children of those involved. Although from a modern perspective these practices are clearly wrong, they took place at a time when society shared very different values. Thankfully society today takes a very different attitude to single parents. Lessons of the time have been learned and led to significant changes to legislation and practice. Single parents are now supported to help ensure that children and their families stay together, and children are only removed permanently by a court, without the consent of the parents, if it is satisfied that the child is suffering significant harm or is likely to suffer significant harm. Parents now have legal representatives appointed to support them, to ensure their views are heard and that evidence put forward can be challenged. In addition, NHS maternity services now have robust policy guidance and processes in place to safeguard care for vulnerable women and babies. A range of help and support is available for those affected by historical adoption practices. For example, they can access intermediary services, provided by local authorities, voluntary adoption agencies and registered adoption agencies, to help them trace their birth children or birth parents and establish whether contact is possible. Birth relatives and adopted adults can also add their details to the Adoption Contact Register at the General Register Office to find a birth relative or an adopted person. We recognise that none of the above can change the heartbreak and impact of things done in the past and repeat again our deepest sympathy for all those affected.

Schools: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department has allocated to schools in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry for building improvement programmes in each of the last five years.

Mr Robin Walker: The department allocates condition funding each year to those responsible for school buildings to improve and maintain the condition of the school estate. Most condition funding allocations are calculated at a responsible body level and cannot be broken down to constituency level, as decisions on investment are often taken at a local level.Schools and those responsible for school buildings receive condition funding through different routes depending on their size and type. The majority of condition funding is paid to responsible bodies through annual School Condition Allocations (SCA). Devolved Formula Capital (DFC) is also allocated for schools to spend on their own capital priorities.The department has allocated over £20 million in condition funding to Coventry local authority since 2017 for maintained schools (see attached table). This includes SCA (and up to the 2019-20 financial year, funding paid via the local authority Voluntary Aided Programme for voluntary aided schools), and DFC. As part of this, in the 2018-19 financial year, additional funding was made available through the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund, as well as £400 million additional DFC. In the 2020-21 financial year, the government made an additional £560 million available for essential maintenance and upgrade projects. Coventry local authority’s share of additional funding has been included in figures in the table.Large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary aided school bodies, also receive SCA funding to invest in schools for which they are responsible. These are not included in the figures as large academy trusts and voluntary aided school bodies will typically span local authority boundaries. A full breakdown of allocations can be found on GOV.UK. Smaller trusts, voluntary aided schools and sixth form colleges that are not eligible for SCA can bid into the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) each year. Over the last 5 years, there have been 3 successful CIF applications for eligible schools in the Coventry North East Constituency with a total funding award of £1.2 million. Over the same period, for Coventry overall there have been 38 successful CIF applications with a total funding award of £12.4 million. For the Priority School Building Programme there have been two schools in the Coventry North-East constituency, and six schools in the Coventry Local Authority over the last five years. So far, there have not been any schools from the Coventry North East constituency within the new School Rebuilding Programme. However, four schools in the Coventry local authority area are included in the first 100 projects of the programme that have been announced to date.75905_table (xlsx, 30.9KB)

Free School Meals

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 13 December 2016 to Question 56826 on Free School Meals, what progress his Department has made in making free school meal registration processes more efficient; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: The department wants as many eligible pupils as possible to claim their free school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility. Since December 2016, when the referenced question was asked, the department has continued to develop and provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have continued to provide a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for free school meals. The department has also provided guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.

Free School Meals

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to increase the threshold for Free School Meals in line with the National Food Strategy recommendations.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children whose parents are in receipt of Universal Credit who do not receive a free school meal.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had discussions with Ministerial colleagues in the Treasury on increasing the annual net earned income threshold for Free School Meals.

Will Quince: The department supports over 1.7 million pupils from the lowest income families to concentrate, learn, and achieve in the classroom through the provision of free school meals. An additional 1.3 million infants receive a free meal under the Universal Infant Free School Meals policy.In 2018, the government introduced new eligibility criteria for families on Universal Credit, following a consultation in 2017. It was estimated that this will be more generous in its reach by 2022, in comparison to the legacy benefit system. Further to this, we included generous protections which mean any family eligible for free school meals transitioning to Universal Credit from a legacy benefit will continue to have access to free school meals even if they move above the earnings threshold. The government will fully consider the recommendations of the National Food Strategy, which included recommendations around free school meal eligibility, and will respond in due course.

Children and Young People: Mental Capacity

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the wellbeing of children and young people who are being held under deprivation of liberty safeguards.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has he made of the suitability of (a) holiday cottages, (b) park homes and (c) caravans as residences for children and young people subject to deprivation of liberty safeguards.

Will Quince: All children should live somewhere that meets their needs and keep them safe. This is particularly important for looked after children who have been deprived of their liberty for their own or for the safety of others. These children and young people are often some of the most vulnerable in our society and we must do all that we can to keep them safe.  We are clear that where a looked after child is deprived of their liberty, the setting is very likely to be providing care and accommodation. Such accommodation must be registered as a children’s home as required by the Care Standards Act 2000. Children’s homes are subject to robust registration and inspection requirements by Ofsted to ensure that they meet the needs of children they accommodate, and they must follow the national standards. Ofsted can take action against children’s homes when they are not delivering the quality of care and accommodation for children that the department expects. Any provider operating a setting that meets the definition of a children’s homes – providing care and accommodation wholly or mainly for children – without the required registration is likely to be committing a criminal offence. The government believes that all children who require care of the sort provided by a children’s home should be in a children’s home which is registered by Ofsted. Where local authorities place children subject to a deprivation of liberty in a setting that is not registered with Ofsted, they should follow the ‘Guidance on Placements in unregistered children’s homes in England or unregistered care home services in Wales’ issued by the President of the Family Division in November 2019 with an addendum added to that guidance on 1st December 2020. This guidance is clear that an application to register the provision with Ofsted must be made within 7 working days from the date of the deprivation of liberty order. The government supports this guidance and adherence to it.

Families: Respite Care

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that families with disabled children are able access (a) short breaks and (b) respite care that meets their health needs.

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that families with disabled children are able to access (a) short breaks and (b) respite care that meet their health needs in (i) Southport and (ii) Sefton.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that families with disabled children can access short breaks and respite care that meets those children's health needs.

Will Quince: Respite care services, including short breaks, for disabled children and their families are provided based on an individual assessment of each child and family’s needs. The department believes it is right for local authorities, who know their areas’ needs best, to determine what services are required locally, including early help. This year, councils have access to £51.3 billion to deliver their core services, including a £1.7 billion grant for social care. The government has also given over £6 billion in funding directly to councils to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including children’s services. The department will continue to work with other government departments, including the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to ensure the needs of children’s services are reflected. Where a child has complex health needs or is in receipt of palliative or end-of-life care, respite provision may be appropriately delivered by health providers, including children’s hospices. Local authorities have a statutory duty to assess the social care needs of disabled children and young people, and to provide respite care where necessary. Where it is appropriate, local authorities can fund respite care provided by hospices, either as a short-term stay or as a service provided to the child or young person in the family home by the hospice team. Local authorities and health commissioners regularly liaise to plan and commission the most appropriate package of respite care for the children and young people with life-limiting or life-threatening condition in their area. In addition to statutory services, the department is providing £27.3 million to the Family Fund in financial year 2021-22 to support over 60,000 families on low incomes raising children and young people with disabilities or serious illnesses. Grants can be used for a range of purposes, including family breaks.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Internet: Sales

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to introduce an equivalent level of consumer protection to online purchases.

Paul Scully: There is already robust legislation in place that protects consumers when purchasing goods and services online. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out the rights consumers enjoy while shopping online and instore. The Department recently consulted on advancing online consumer rights in its “Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy” consultation. A copy of the consultation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-competition-and-consumer-policy. The consultation closed on 1 October and the department will publish a response in due course.

Fireworks: Safety

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to work with the Office for Product Safety and Standards to review the safety regulations for the use of fireworks in the context of distress caused by fireworks to (a) people with learning disabilities, (b) young children and (c) animals.

Paul Scully: The Government takes the issues associated with the sale and use of fireworks seriously. That is why there is a comprehensive regulatory framework in place that aims to reduce the risks and disturbances to both vulnerable people and animals. As part of the Government’s programme of action, we continue to commission research and use evidence to inform our work. This has included developing and publishing an evidence base on fireworks and undertaking engagement with a wide range of interested groups, including charities supporting vulnerable groups and animal welfare organisations. Through our public awareness campaign for the 2021 fireworks season, we promoted the safe and considerate use of fireworks to the general public, to ensure that those using them do so safely and considerately. The campaign was far reaching and had a potential reach of 4.1 million people on Twitter (10 October-7 November 2021). The Office for Product Safety and Standards is part of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

Post Offices: Closures

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many temporarily closed Post Office branches have been closed for (a) less than six months, (b) six months to a year, (c) one year and a day to two years and (d) longer than two years in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) each region of England as of 12 November 2021.

Paul Scully: While Post Office Limited is publicly owned, it operates as an independent, commercial business. Therefore, details regarding the length of time Post Office branches have been closed in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) each region of England as of 12 November 2021, are an operational matter for Post Office Limited.

Enterprise Zones

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he undertake a review of Enterprise Zones to date to establish whether further steps can be taken to increase their effectiveness.

Paul Scully: Enterprise Zones have been a very successful government policy. They drive growth in local economies, by attracting and supporting businesses, which increases investment and employment to the area. There are no current plans to review Enterprise Zones; however, the experience of delivering Enterprise Zones has informed the development of the Government's new Freeports programme.

Scottish Limited Partnerships: Ownership

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Scottish Limited Partnerships have failed to register a Person of Significant Control in each of the last three years.

Paul Scully: Companies House considers 8,070 of the Scottish Limited Partnerships (‘SLPs’) on the register to be active as at 31st October 2021. Of these, 213 SLPs have not filed PSC information. This compares to 948 in January 2020 and 2,019 in January 2019.

Fireworks: Pets

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what research he has undertaken on the effect of the public sale and use of fireworks on (a) pets and (b) pet owners.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what research he has undertaken on the effect of the public sale and use of fireworks on (a) wildlife and (b) farm animals.

Paul Scully: The Government takes the issues associated with the sale and use of fireworks seriously. That is why there is a comprehensive regulatory framework in place for fireworks, that aims to reduce the risks and disturbances to animals. It is also an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause an animal any unnecessary suffering and this includes through the misuse of fireworks. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act came into force on 29 June 2021 and has increased the maximum penalty for cruelty to animals to five years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. We continue to work with a variety of stakeholders, including animal welfare groups, to promote the safe and considerate use of fireworks to the general public, to ensure that those using them do so safely and considerately.

Fireworks: Veterans

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what research he has undertaken on the effect of the public sale and use of fireworks on veterans with (a) PTSD and (B) other war-related mental health trauma.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what research he has undertaken on the effect of the public sale and use of fireworks on babies and young people, and their parents.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what research he has undertaken on the effect of the public sale and use of fireworks on (a) people with autism and (b) adults with mental health conditions.

Paul Scully: The Government takes the issues associated with the sale and use of fireworks seriously. That is why there is a comprehensive regulatory framework in place that aims to reduce the risks and disturbances to vulnerable people. As part of the Government’s programme of action, we continue to commission research and use evidence to inform our work. This has included developing and publishing an evidence base on fireworks and undertaking engagement with a wide range of organisations, including charities supporting vulnerable groups. Through our public awareness campaign for the 2021 fireworks season, we have promoted the safe and considerate use of fireworks to the general public, to ensure that those using them do so safely and considerately.

Fireworks: Crimes of Violence

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what research he has undertaken on the potential effect of the public sale and use of fireworks on levels of assaults of (a) police officers, (b) ambulance staff, (c) firefighters and (d) members of the public.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what research he has undertaken on the potential effect of the public sale and use of fireworks on pressures on emergency services and the NHS.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what data he holds on the number of injuries from fireworks which have been recorded as requiring hospital treatment or other treatment in each of the last five years; and how many inquiries the NHS has received relating to treatment for burns from fireworks in each of the last five years.

Paul Scully: Any attack on the emergency services, including any that involve fireworks, is a police matter under the criminal law, including the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018. The Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care manage the pressures on the emergency services. NHS statistics show that fireworks injuries have declined since 2016. The number of A&E attendances in England due to “firework injury” was 53 in 2019-2020, compared to 1,835 in 2018-2019, 4,378 in 2017-18 and 5,227 in 2016-17. As part of the Government’s programme of action, we continue to commission research and use evidence to inform our work. This has included developing and publishing an evidence base on fireworks and undertaking engagement with a wide range of organisations. Through our public awareness campaign for the 2021 fireworks season, we have promoted the safe and considerate use of fireworks to the general public, to ensure that those using them do so safely and considerately.

Fireworks: Safety

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of publicly licensed fireworks events for public safety.

Paul Scully: As part of the Government’s programme of action, we continue to commission research and use evidence to inform our work. This has included developing and publishing an evidence base on fireworks and undertaking engagement with a wide range of organisations on the key issues raised. This work provided no evidence that a change in legislation was needed, including the current licensing regime. We also commissioned research by Ipsos Mori that provided evidence on consumer attitudes towards and behaviours around using fireworks in the UK. The key findings have informed our annual public awareness campaigns and support the need to educate consumers on fireworks use. The Government has no current plans to place further restrictions on the sale of fireworks to the public, but we continue to monitor the situation and engage with a wide range of stakeholders, to understand better what specific issues they face.

Land Registry: Standards

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the chief executive of HM Land Registry on application backlogs.

Paul Scully: My Noble Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Lord Callanan is the responsible Minister for HM Land Registry. My Noble Friend meets the Chief Executive and Chair on a regular basis to discuss a broad range of operational and strategic matters with the last meeting in September 2021. HM Land Registry is focused on increasing output and reducing completion time for applications by increasing capacity, implementing new processes and accelerating digital services.

Conditions of Employment: Immunosuppression

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that employment protections are retained for immunocompromised people who are less protected by covid-19 vaccines.

Paul Scully: There are a range of existing legal protections which can be engaged where an individual has an underlying health condition. An immunocompromised person may be considered to have a disability and benefit from protections under the Equality Act, which include the duty on an employer to make reasonable adjustments. A disability under the Equality Act is defined as a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. Immunocompromised employees may also be protected against unfair dismissal. An employment tribunal will consider all the relevant facts around a dismissal in judging whether it was fair or not. This could include public health guidance regarding coronavirus for those who are immunocompromised, alongside other issues including individual behaviour.

Living Wage

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the estimated timescale is for increasing to national living wage.

Paul Scully: As announced at the Autumn Budget, on 1 April 2022 the Government will increase the National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 23 years and over by 6.6% to £9.50. This keeps the Government on track to achieve its manifesto commitment for the NLW to equal two-thirds of median earnings by 2024. The Government will lay a Statutory Instrument to amend the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 in due course. BEIS will publish a full impact assessment next year alongside laying the regulations.

Innovate UK: Finance

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that the increase in annual core funding for Innovate UK will help support organisations based in Northern Ireland.

George Freeman: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Streaming: Copyright

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to reform copyright laws to ensure that (a) performers, (b) musicians and (c) other artists receive equitable remuneration for streaming income.

George Freeman: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Renewable Energy

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to page 148 of the Net Zero Strategy, whether the Fairness and Affordability Call for Evidence will cover both domestic and non-domestic consumers.

Greg Hands: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Renewable Energy

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the assessment of options to shift or rebalance energy levies, such as the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in-Tariffs, and obligations, such as the Energy Company Obligation, away from electricity to gas over this decade as referenced in the Heat and Buildings Strategy will cover both domestic and non-domestic consumers.

Greg Hands: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Heart Diseases: Research

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will allocate additional funding to help identify drugs to help improve heart function in people with diabetes who have had heart attacks.

George Freeman: One of the Healthcare Missions set out in my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Life Sciences Vision is the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and its major risk factors, including obesity. Government has announced that £95m will be provided to support the deployment and use of innovative treatments to deliver these Healthcare Missions. Work will now commence with a wide range of partners to develop and deliver this mission. Alongside this, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research and focusses their work on early translational research, clinical research and applied health and social care research. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including diabetes and related heart conditions; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Research: North East

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase the level of (a) public and (b) private research and development funding in the North East.

George Freeman: The 2021 Spending Review sees record levels of investment in the UK’s world-leading research base with public spending on Research & Development (R&D) increasing by £5 billion per annum to £20 billion in 2024-25. The substantial uplift to research and science funding will not only allow the UK to build on our core strengths but will also provide opportunities to grow research and innovation investment across the entire country. UKRI currently funds over 570 active science and research projects in the North East of England with a value of over £660 million. More specifically, the Government has already committed over £93.6 million Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund funding to organisations registered in the North East, which has leveraged an additional £41.8 million co-investment from non-public sources. The Innovation Strategy, published in July, signalled how we would embed innovation across the country to level up the UK. We will create the right policy environment and send clear signals to unlock business investment in innovation and boost the private sector investment we need to achieve the 2.4% target by 2027 including in the North East. Making the most of R&D in places around the UK remains a key government priority and the forthcoming Levelling Up White Paper will set out the plan for doing this. UKRI are also publishing detailed breakdowns of their funding data at a regional level annually to increase transparency of how places benefit from R&D funding. Latest available data is at: https://www.ukri.org/our-work/what-we-have-funded/regional-distribution-of-funding/2018-to-2019-regional-distribution-of-funding/#contents-list.

Iron and Steel: Energy Supply

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to tackle the impact of energy prices on energy-intensive users in the steel sector.

Lee Rowley: The Department continues to engage constructively with energy intensive industries to further understand and to assess the possibility of offering help to mitigate the impacts of high global gas prices. Our priority is to ensure that costs are managed and that supplies of energy are maintained.

Fossil Fuels: Climate Change

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of tightening the definition of what counts as a new fossil fuel extraction project for the purposes of ensuring the effectiveness of the Government's climate compatibility checkpoint.

Greg Hands: The UK is the only major economy to have published a blueprint to transition it’s oil and gas sector to the green economy. The Government's landmark North Sea Transition Deal could support up to 40,000 high-quality direct and indirect supply chain jobs and sets a world-leading example for other countries who need to decarbonise their economies.The Government’s recent review into the future of offshore oil and gas licensing concluded that a formal climate compatibility checkpoint, building on current practice, should be established. This will help ensure that any future licences are only awarded following an assessment of their compatibility with the Government’s broad climate change ambitions, including the UK’s target of reaching net zero by 2050.BEIS will consult on the design of the checkpoint in due course.

Electric Vehicles: Renewable Energy

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the additional renewable electricity generating capacity required to support the estimated number of electric vehicles in (a) 2025, (b) 2030 and (c) 2035.

Greg Hands: The Government works closely with National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) to ensure there is adequate capacity available to meet peak demand in a range of scenarios, now and in the future. Each year NGESO evaluate how much capacity will be necessary to meet demand in the years ahead and utilise this assessment to determine targets for the annual Capacity Market auctions. Auctions held to date have secured the majority of Great Britain’s capacity needs out to 2024/25. The Government will take action so that, by 2035, all electricity will come from low carbon sources, subject to security of supply. This includes the Government’s commitment to deliver 40GW of offshore wind by 2030, alongside the expansion of other low-cost renewable technologies.

Attorney General

Fraud: Prosecutions

Peter Gibson: To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to prosecute individuals charged with fraud by false representation particularly in relation to fraudulent property transactions.

Alex Chalk: In March 2021, the CPS launched its first ever Economic Crime Strategy to ensure they keep at pace with the constant changing nature of crime. It is a high-level strategy which allows the flexibility to respond and adapt to new and emerging threats. The CPS has a dedicated Specialist Fraud Division to ensure it has the right skills and resources to prosecute complex cases.The CPS also has a Proceeds of Crime unit dedicated to asset recovery and in 2018, the CPS created three new Fraud Centres in CPS Areas to increase capability and resilience in dealing with fraud casework.

Prosecutions

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to help improve prosecution levels under section 24 of the Offences Against The Person Act 1861.

Alex Chalk: The recent rise in reports of spiking is incredibly concerning and is being investigated by the police. The CPS will always treat maliciously administering poison as a high harm offence and is working in close partnership with the police to bring perpetrators of this offence to justice.Between 2020-2021 there were 222 prosecutions for cases charged under Section 24, which was an increase of 22% on the previous year.

Department of Health and Social Care

Department of Health and Social Care: Hikvision

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Hikvision CCTV or other surveillance software or equipment from Hikvision, is used on any property owned or administered by his Department.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals: Coronavirus

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2021 to Question 72598 on Hospitals: Coronavirus, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of covid-19 hospitalisations on the availability of (a) hospital beds, (b) staff and (c) elective procedures, notwithstanding the fact that he has not plans to publish such an assessment.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Conditions of Employment

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Health and Care Bill on NHS employment contracts.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in each month of 2021, how many (a) AstraZeneca and (b) Pfizer doses have reached their expiry dates before being administered in the UK.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Liaoning Zhongqiao Overseas Exchange: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the efficacy of equipment provided by Liaoning Zhongqiao Overseas Exchange Co Ltd through the high priority lane for the supply of Personal Protective Equipment for use by NHS and social care staff during the outbreak of covid-19.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what dates did the Minister for Efficiency and Transformation refer (a) Uniserve Ltd and (b) Worldlink Resource to the high priority lane for the supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the outbreak of covid-19.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which (a) ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) civil servants referred (i) Meller Designs Limited and (ii) Liaoning Zhongqiao Overseas Exchange Co Ltd to the high priority lane for the supply of personal protective equipment during the covid-19 outbreak.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Immensa Health Clinic: South West

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the Immensa Wolverhampton laboratory false testing results on the rates of covid-19 the South West.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Social Services: Recruitment

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of previous recruitment campaigns for the social care workforce; and if he will publish that assessment.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospital Beds

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) NHS leaders and (b) representatives of the social care sector on reducing the number of delayed transfers of care in hospitals over winter 2021.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospital Beds

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds data on the average number of people delayed per day as part of delayed transfers of care in hospital for (a) August 2021, (b) September 2021 and October 2021; and if he will publish those data.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to mitigate the risk of covid-19 infection for people who received an early dose of the covid-19 vaccine but whose booster vaccinations have been delayed.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has he made of the impact of the additional funding for the NHS will have on hospital waiting times by (a) March 2022,  (b) March 2023 and (c) March 2024.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on private hospital facilities and clinics for additional care capacity for (a) cancer care, (b) elective surgery and (c) other procedures during the covid-19 outbreak.

Edward Argar: The information is not available in the format requested, as spending is not collected by individual treatment type.

Lord Feldman of Elstree

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2021 to Question 31421, if he will publish Lord Feldman's declaration of interests to his Department in his capacity as an unpaid adviser.

Edward Argar: We are unable to provide the information requested as it contains personal and commercially sensitive information.

Kidney Cancer: Health Services

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to primary care providers on ensuring that patients’ views are taken into account when kidney cancer services are (a) designed and (b) delivered.

Maria Caulfield: No such guidance has been issued, as primary care providers do not design and deliver kidney cancer services. Cancer services, Cancer Alliances and the National Cancer Programme work closely with patients, carers and their families to ensure policy and service delivery, including for kidney cancer, meet their needs and deliver an improved patient experience. NHS England has published a co-production model, which supports local systems by providing a model for working with people who have lived experience, which is available at the following link:https://coalitionforpersonalisedcare.org.uk/resources/a-co-production-model/The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey and the National under 16 Patient Experience Survey monitor national and local progress on cancer care to drive local quality improvements, to assist commissioners and providers of cancer care and to inform the work of the various charities and stakeholder groups supporting cancer patients.

Urology: Community Diagnostic Centres

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report entitled Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal: Report of the Independent Review of Diagnostic Services for NHS England, published on 27 November 2020, what progress his Department has made in moving the urological outpatient workload to community diagnostic hubs.

Edward Argar: The Department has provided £325m to support the National Health Service to roll out 40 Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) across England this year. The centres will start providing services over the next 6 months, with the aim to be fully operational by March 2022. Some centres have already been set up as Early Adopters, providing services to their local community. A further £2.3bn to support the roll out of a further 60 CDCs by 2024/2025 was announced at the 2021 Spending Review.CDCs will offer some urology diagnostics, including urine testing and urodynamics, but the level of urology services provided will be decided locally based on population need. This will determine how much of the outpatient urology workload can move into CDCs.

Coronavirus: Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish details of the demands made on NHS primary care treatment for people diagnosed with covid-19 in respect of (a) hospital admissions, (b) average hospital stay as in-patients and (c) cost of treatment since March 2020.

Edward Argar: NHS Digital hold data on hospital admissions and mean length of hospital stay for those with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, for the period March 2020 to August 2021. The data is shown in the attached table.NHS England and NHS Improvement are the official source of statistics on COVID-19 related hospital activity. They publish a weekly dataset of COVID-19 hospital admissions and bed occupancy. The data contains information on total reported COVID-19 admissions to hospital and number of beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, split by region of England. This dataset is available at the following link.https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-hospital-activity/The Department is not able to provide individual costs or estimates for a specific illness due to the number of factors involved, including the variety of clinical work associated with COVID-19 and other factors such as Long COVID.Table (xlsx, 21.3KB)

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak of 15 June 2021, reference RL23151.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 17 November 2021.

Department of Health and Social Care: Stonewall

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2021 to Question 61062 on Department of Health and Social Care: Stonewall, for what reason that Answer did not include the £1,000 paid by his Department for a Stonewall representative to deliver an event on trans access to healthcare as per an FOI response in March 2021, reference FOI-1302529; and whether other funding by his Department to Stonewall was omitted in that Answer.

Edward Argar: Officials have confirmed that the response given to Question 61062 is correct. A further check of our financial records has established that no additional payment was made to Stonewall for this event. An amendment to our previous Freedom of Information response will be sent to the original requesters.

NHS: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what items of surplus PPE purchased through the high priority lane his Department has placed for sale to other NATO countries via e-portal.

Edward Argar: None of the items placed for sale on the NATO Portal were sourced through contracts that were processed through the high priority lane.

Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many complaints his Department has received from companies complaining that they were unable to get the attention of officials to supply personal protective equipment from February 2020 to August 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: We processed over 24,000 offers of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from over 15,000 suppliers who approached the National PPE Sourcing team via the online portals the Government established in March 2020. Using the webform ensured that offers of support were recorded effectively and taken forward as necessary. Offers were triaged and those which could potentially deliver significant quantities of high-quality PPE quickly were prioritised. All offers then went into exactly the same Technical Assurance, Closing (contract negotiation) and Procurement (contract award) process, managed by officials, leading to the award of 339 contracts. A high number of offers were therefore rejected at different stages of being taken through this process for different reasons. A central log of complaints this generated, including those against officials, was not created.

NHS 111

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) average call duration, (b) average waiting time and (c) the total number of calls wherein the person calling dropped the call, were to the NHS emergency advice service number 111 in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020 and (iv) 2021; what the average call duration has been over the last 12 months to 111; and how many calls to 111 were abandoned over the last 12 months.

Edward Argar: The average call duration for NHS111 calls is not held centrally.The average waiting time for NHS111 calls is only available for April – August 2021, and not for previous years. The average waiting from April to August 2021 was 271 seconds.The total number of calls abandoned is only available for April – August 2021, which is 1,452,574. This data is not available for 2018, 2019, 2020 and current year to August, where only the number of calls abandoned after at least 30 seconds is available. This data is provided in the following table: 2018201920202021:  January – AugustCalls abandoned after at least 30 seconds708,548661,9062,160,5951,266,546Source: NHS England The total number of calls abandoned over the last 12 months is not available.

Cardiovascular Diseases: Health Services

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has a workforce strategy to tackle cardiovascular care in the NHS.

Edward Argar: NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Cardiac Pathway Improvement Programme was launched this year and includes a workstream for workforce optimisation and innovation. The objectives for this workstream include ensuring education and training packages are in place, promoting the use of digital passporting for staff to enable working in trusts across health care systems and e-rostering and e-job planning across trusts and networks.There are currently 3,469 hospital and community health service doctors working in cardiology in the National Health Service. This is an increase of 397 or 12.9% since July 2019. This includes 1,493 consultants, or an increase of 8.6% since July 2019.

Pharmaceuticals Direct: Contracts

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the value for money to the public purse of contracts awarded to Pharmaceuticals Direct since February 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the basis was for awarding Pharmaceuticals Direct a £102.6 million contract to provide 20 million FFP3 masks, at £5.13 per unit; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average price paid per unit was, by Government, for a FFP3 mask in June 2020; and what the average price paid per unit was for FFP3 masks as part of the £102.6 million contract awarded to Pharmaceuticals Direct in the summer of 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons his Department agreed a £102.6 million deal with Pharmaceuticals Direct for FFP3 face masks subsequent to correspondence with alternative suppliers who were told that further supplies were not needed as Government had sufficient supplies in place; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: All offers of personal protective equipment (PPE) were subject to the same assurance process which selected suppliers based on the product type, clinical acceptability, price, forecasted delivery dates, volume and financial standing. The overall basis for awarding contracts, including the value for money consideration, involved a balanced judgement of all these factors. While the price per unit is a factor, FFP3 masks require FIT testing onto the wearer which is required by law. Pharmaceuticals Direct Ltd offered a mask which was already in use within the National Health Service and one which healthcare workers had provided a positive evaluation of. Information on the unit price of PPE ordered under each contract is commercially sensitive. While the unit price for the FFP3 masks under this contact were higher, the Department considered the urgent need for the product; the product had previously passed FIT testing and was in use within the health system; and that other tried and tested FFP3 masks were not available from other European sources at the time. The demand and supply signals for PPE varied on a daily basis in light of infection rates within the United Kingdom. The availability of product also fluctuated regularly due to competition over manufacturing capacity and scarce supply. The Government supported the UK Make programme for UK suppliers to develop manufacturing capacity for PPE at the end of 2020. The Pharmaceuticals Direct Ltd contract provided a clinically approved product before UK Make suppliers were able to distribute their products.

Ambulance Services: North West

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the North West Ambulance Service's average response time has been for (a) category 1 calls, (b) category 2 calls, (c) category 3 calls and (d) category 4 calls in each of the last 12 months.

Edward Argar: The following table shows the average ambulance response times for the North West Ambulance Service for Category 1, 2, 3 and 4 calls in hours, minutes and seconds in each of the last 12 months. Information on Category 4 calls is unavailable from May 2021 due to a reporting error. Category 1Category 2Category 3Category 4October 20208:0345:402:18:382:59:01November 20207:5128:571:23:302:29:16December 20207:3626:291:17:462:56:38January 20218:1235:351:44:393:37:39February 20217:1221:0449:521:48:36March 20217:1320:4456:372:05:39April 20217:2923:521:21:433:08:16May 20217:5127:131:52:114:23:45June 20218:1938:153:18:28-July 20219:0256:164:07:48-August 20218:4249:053:14:19-September 20219:1257:123:46:43- Source: NHS England

Long Covid: Health Services

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Long Covid referrals were made in (a) England, (b) each region and (c) each NHS Trust in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the waiting time for treatment for people diagnosed with Long Covid in (a) England, (b) each region and (c) each NHS Trust in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department collects on waiting times for people diagnosed with Long Covid.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients with Long Covid have waited longer than 18 weeks for referral to the Post Covid Assessment Service in (a) England, (b) each region of England and (c) each NHS Trust.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England and NHS Improvement publishes monthly activity data and demographic information for patients referred to a post COVID-19 assessment clinic, by region and in England, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-post-covid-assessment-service/The following table shows the number of accepted referrals to post COVID-19 assessment clinics from July 2021 in England and at a regional level. Data at National Health Service trust level is not available.NHS England region5 July – 1 August 20212 August – 29 August 202130 August– 26 September 2021England5,0294,8465,182East of England574580491London740797761Midlands1,1391,3471,497North East and Yorkshire1,01285785North West424671552South East805426605South West335240354 From October 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement have published information on waiting times from referral to an initial assessment. A table showing initial specialist assessments by waiting time for England and at a regional level between 30 August and 26 September 2021 is attached. Data at NHS trust level is not available. Data on waiting times for the period between 2 to 29 August 2021 is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-post-covid-assessment-service/These are new clinics and as a result there will be variation in the maturity of services. NHS England and NHS Improvement are working closely with clinics to support them to reduce waiting times. As this is a relatively new data collection, some variation may be attributable to incomplete data submissions and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working to improve data quality. Table showing September waiting times (docx, 20.3KB)

Heart Diseases: Rehabilitation

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to increase access to cardiac rehabilitation.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Long Term Plan committed to improve care and outcomes for people with cardiovascular disease. To increase access to cardiac rehabilitation, NHS England and NHS Improvement are accelerating lessons learned from the pandemic, such as the enhanced use of digital technology and a greater application of remote consultations. This includes additional targeted funding for local National Health Service teams to enhance existing cardiac rehabilitation services.NHS England and NHS Improvement have also partnered with University of Exeter to fund nationwide training of 60 cardiac healthcare professionals, to facilitate home based cardiac rehabilitation programmes, offering a choice of setting for heart failure patients.

General Practitioners: Waiting Lists

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of GP surgeries requiring patients to phone up to book a GP appointment on waiting times for all GP appointments.

Maria Caulfield: Data on waiting times for general practitioner (GP) appointments is not held centrally therefore no such assessment has been made.Patients can book GP appointments by visiting the surgery’s website, using the NHS App and calling the practice directly. Accessing general practice services has changed during the pandemic, with practices offering triage and remote consultations alongside face-to face appointments, in order to see as many patients as possible while protecting staff and patients from infection risks.

Health Services: Private Sector

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that private health corporations and their subsidiaries do not move personal health data outside of the UK.

Gillian Keegan: All organisations providing services to patients in the United Kingdom, whether in the National Health Service or privately, must abide by UK data protection legislation - the Data Protection Act 2018, the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the common law duty of confidentiality. These place strict conditions on how identifiable patient data can be used and shared.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support clinically extremely vulnerable people will receive in the event that covid-19 restrictions are reintroduced.

Maggie Throup: The shielding programme in England has now ended. Those who were previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable will not be advised to shield in the future or asked to follow specific national guidance. They are advised to follow the same general guidance as everyone else, in addition to any condition-specific advice that may have been provided by their specialist. The NHS Volunteer Responders programme and a range of other support services continue to be available and information on these has been provided to those previously considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable.

Travel: Coronavirus

Sir Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason passengers entering the UK from overseas cannot use an NHS issued covid-19 lateral flow test.

Maggie Throup: Free National Health Service tests cannot be used for travel in order to preserve existing lateral flow device testing supplies to protect public health. Since requirements were introduced for international travel testing, the costs have fallen significantly and we are committed to working with the travel industry and private providers to reduce the cost of travel testing further.

NHS and Social Services: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of mandatory covid-19 vaccinations for workers in (a) NHS and (b) social care settings on staffing levels in those settings in York.

Maggie Throup: While no specific assessment has been made, an impact statement setting out an estimate of the potential range of impacts on National Health Service and social care workforce levels in England is available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1032255/making-vaccination-a-condition-of-deployment-in-the-health-and-wider-social-care-sector-impact_statement.pdf

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the covid-19 vaccine booster campaign.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the covid-19 vaccine booster campaign.

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the covid-19 vaccine booster campaign.

Maggie Throup: As of 13 November 2021, more than 12.6 million people in the United Kingdom have received their COVID-19 booster vaccine or third dose to ensure the protection from the first two doses of the vaccine is maintained over the winter months. The Government continues to review the effectiveness of the COVID-19 booster campaign to maximise its impact.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of Novavax trial volunteers who remain unable to access a covid-19 pass.

Maggie Throup: All clinical trial participants should now be able to access their NHS COVID Pass via the NHS app or NHS.uk for domestic use in England. The majority of Novavax trial participants in England can now also access their NHS COVID Pass for travel.Access is subject to data being received from clinical trial sites and participants should confirm that their data has been transferred if they cannot yet access their NHS COVID Pass for domestic or travel purposes.

Oral Tobacco

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a statement on The Global Burden of Disease study published in The Lancet in September 2017 which reported no evidence of harm caused by long-term use of snus for any health outcome.

Maggie Throup: The Department continues to monitor the international evidence on harms from tobacco, including snus. A report by The Norwegian Institute of Public Health published in 2019 reports that the use of Swedish snus may increase the risks of some serious adverse health outcomes and some less serious adverse health outcomes. The report is available at the following link:https://www.fhi.no/en/publ/2019/health-risks-from-snus-use2/

Obesity

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the King's Fund report Tackling obesity: the role of the NHS in a whole-system approach, published on 4 July 2021, what (a) assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policy of the findings of that report on the comparative rates of hospital admission due to obesity in the most and least deprived areas; and (b) steps he is taking to tackle the discrepancy of hospital admissions due to obesity between the most and least deprived areas.

Maggie Throup: ‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ sets out a range of measures to reduce the prevalence of obesity, improve diets and promote healthier lifestyle behaviours, including addressing inactivity and preventing ill-health. To target areas with higher levels of deprivation and obesity prevalence, we have introduced a £30.5 million grant for local authorities in England to commission adult behavioural weight management services in 2021/22, with funding allocated based on population size, obesity prevalence and deprivation. An additional £4.3 million has also been allocated based on need to 11 local authorities to support the expansion of child weight management services in 2021/22.

Vaccination: Children

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has commissioned research to investigate trends in the level of health visitor numbers and childhood immunisations since 2015.

Maggie Throup: No specific research has been commissioned.

NHS and Social Services: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) NHS and (b) social care staff in York are yet to receive a covid-19 vaccine.

Maggie Throup: As of 31 October 2021, there are 522 staff that working in York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust reported to have not received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. As of 4 November, there are 1,010 social care staff working at providers based in the City of York reported as not receiving their first dose.

Infectious Diseases: Children

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allocating funding to health visiting services to help prevent respiratory infections in young children.

Maggie Throup: Preventing respiratory infections, including bronchiolitis and other potentially serious diseases, is an established high impact area for health visiting. The Spending Review has confirmed that Public Health Grant funding will be maintained in real terms, enabling local authorities to continue commissioning these services.

Food: Labelling

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government plans to introduce yeast labelling on food packaging to improve information for people with allergies.

Maggie Throup: It is a legal requirement for all prepacked foods to be fully labelled with an ingredient list. Therefore, if yeast or yeast extract is used as an ingredient in a prepacked food at any level, it must be included in the ingredient list. If one of the 14 major allergens defined in legislation is present in a pre-packed food, it must be emphasised within the ingredient list to distinguish it from other ingredients. Yeast is not currently included in the 14 major allergens. Any additions to this list would only be made based on relevant scientific evidence and views gathered through public consultation.For those who are hypersensitive to foods not in the major allergens list, the Food Standards Agency recommends that consumers check the ingredients list on prepacked food and speak to businesses when they purchase non-pre-packed food.

Public Health England: Expenditure

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) the budget was for Public Health England in (i) 2017, (ii) 2018 and (ii) 2019; and (b) assessment his Department has made of the effect of those budgets on the funding of women's health services not including maternity services; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: The following table shows the operating budget for Public Health England in the financial years requested. 2017/182018/192019/20£292 million£287 million£287 millionSource: Public Health England Annual Report and Accounts. The Department has made no assessment of the effects of these budgets on the funding of women’s health services.

Health Visitors: Children

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of health visitors in England to deliver the Healthy Child Programme.

Maggie Throup: No recent assessment has been made. The Healthy Child Programme should be led by health visitors alongside a range of delivery partners. It is the responsibility of local authorities, with their provider, to determine service requirements based upon local needs.

Babies: Health Services

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Minister oversees the work of the Start for Life Unit in his Department.

Maggie Throup: I am the Minister with responsibility for the Start for Life Unit.

NHS: Coronavirus

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of NHS staff who have been deemed to be unvaccinated because they (a) received a covid-19 vaccine that is not recognised in the UK or (b) currently have covid-19 and thus cannot receive a vaccination.

Maggie Throup: The Department has made no specific estimate.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to grant GPs formal approval to administer the third dose of the covid-19 vaccine to severely immunosuppressed people.

Maggie Throup: If a person is eligible, they will usually be vaccinated at their hospital or a local service such as their general practitioner surgery. As such, practices offering COVID-19 vaccines are already capable of administering third doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to severely immunosuppressed people.

Obesity: Coventry

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of childhood obesity levels in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry in each of the last five years; what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on levels of obesity among children in those areas; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle childhood obesity.

Maggie Throup: The National Child Measurement Programme collects data on children aged four to five years old and 10 to 11 years old. Data is not available at Parliamentary constituency level.For children aged four to five years old, the prevalence of obesity in the Coventry local authority area was 11.7% in the academic year 2019/20; 10.2% in 2018/19; 10.5% in 2017/18; 10.1% in 2016/17; and 9.4% in 2015/16. For children aged 10 to 11 years old, the prevalence of obesity in Coventry was 25.3% in 2019/20; 22.6% in 2018/19; 23.5% in 2017/18; 24.2% in 2016/17; and 23.1% in 2015/16.Data is not currently available for Coventry for 2020/21 therefore the impact of COVID-19 is not yet known.The Department published ‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ in 2020, which aims to reduce obesity, taking forward actions from previous chapters of the childhood obesity plan.

Coronavirus: Medical Treatments

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to invest in alternative covid-19 treatments for immunocompromised people.

Maggie Throup: Immunocompromised individuals are a priority cohort for research into therapeutic and prophylaxis treatments such as monoclonal antibody therapies, novel antivirals, and repurposed compounds. In August, Ronapreve, a novel monoclonal antibody, was approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Ronapreve is being administered through the National Health Service to treat the most vulnerable, including immunocompromised patients.The Antivirals Taskforce has secured two antiviral treatments. Molnupiravir has already received approval by the MHRA and will be deployed this winter to protect those at high-risk from COVID-19. The second antiviral will be deployed should it receive approval. The Taskforce is working with partners across the United Kingdom to ensure antivirals are deployed to protect the clinically vulnerable. The Therapeutics Taskforce and Antivirals Taskforce continue to monitor treatments of interest to identify any further promising compounds and ensure that UK patients can access them if they are safe and effective against COVID-19.

Early Years Healthy Development Review

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the timetable for announcing a Cabinet Minister to oversee implementation of the Government’s Early Years Healthy Development Review, The Best Start for Life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days, published on 25 March 2021.

Maggie Throup: As outlined in the Early Years Healthy Development Review’s report, published in March 2021, a Cabinet Minister will oversee ensuring that Start for Life is kept at the heart of policy-making decisions across government.The timing and nature of appointments to the Cabinet are at the discretion of the Prime Minister. A decision on responsibilities going forward will be made in due course.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the rollout of covid-19 vaccines to 12 to 15 year olds.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of roll-out of covid-19 vaccines to 12 to 15 year olds.

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the rollout of covid-19 vaccines for 12 to 15 year-olds.

Maggie Throup: As of 7 November more than 823,000 12 to 15 year olds in England have already received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. We continue to assess the effectiveness of the programme in order to accelerate the COVID-19 programme in schools. The National Health Service is enhancing the in-school offer to increase the scale and pace of delivery, as well as targeting communications to parents and young people to improve uptake and increase overall confidence in the programme.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Mr Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Department's Chief Scientific Adviser's oral evidence to the Science and Technology Committee on 26 October 2021, what progress has been made by his Department on formulating a plan C for covid-19 restrictions.

Maggie Throup: The Government has published the ‘COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021’ to sustain the progress made through the vaccination programme, avoiding the economic and social restrictions deployed in the past. However, in the event of unsustainable pressure on the National Health Service, we have set out a range of measures under ‘Plan B’. We will monitor the data closely, taking action to support and protect the NHS when necessary.

Health Visitors: Babies

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of babies born since March 2020 that have been seen face-to-face by a health visitor.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of health visitor contacts that fulfil the May 2021 Public Health England guidance which states that mandated reviews should be face-to-face, delivered by a health visitor, or under their supervision, since that guidance was published.

Maggie Throup: The information is not available in the format requested. However, NHS Digital has recently published monthly health visitor statistics, including information on the proportion of mandated reviews delivered face to face, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/community-services-statistics-for-children-young-people-and-adults/august-2021/data-sets

NHS: Coronavirus

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the mandatory covid-19 vaccination of frontline NHS staff, which clinician will decide whether a member of staff may receive an authorised exemption from that requirement on the basis of individual medical history.

Maggie Throup: To apply for a medical exemption, an individual should contact the NHS COVID Pass Service via 119. The published guidance on medical exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination sets out that applications will be clinically reviewed by a general practitioner, specialist clinician or midwife. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-medical-exemptions-proving-you-are-unable-to-get-vaccinated

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the progress of the pilot for recording overseas vaccinations in the NHS national database.

Maggie Throup: There is now one vaccination centre in every region in England offering this service and by early December, there will be three sites per region. Further expansion of the service is planned in due course.

Smoking: Carcinogens

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he would publish the data his Department holds on the average level of TSNA carcinogens found in (a) cigarettes, (b) heated tobacco, (c) e-cigarettes and (d) snus made according to the Gothiatek standard.

Maggie Throup: The Department does not hold data on the average level of TSNA carcinogens found in cigarettes, heated tobacco, e-cigarettes or snus.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that individuals who have received both doses of an MHRA-approved covid-19 vaccine outside the UK are subject to the same self-isolation requirements following a close contact with a confirmed positive case as those who received vaccines in the UK.

Maggie Throup: An individual identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case is exempt from self-isolation if they have received both doses of a Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency-approved vaccine administered in the United Kingdom. The current system for validating the vaccination status of close contacts relies on checking against records in the National Immunisation Management System, which does not record vaccinations administered overseas. We are exploring options to extend the existing exemption to contacts who have completed an approved vaccination programme overseas.

Food: Sales Promotions

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether manufacturers be able to produce products with on pack promotions until October 2023; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021, whether non-food and specified food items be promoted together; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021, what constitutes a meal deal; and if he will make a statement.

Maggie Throup: In December 2020, we confirmed that we will legislate to restrict the promotion by location and volume price of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) in stores and online. Restrictions will apply to medium and large businesses with 50 or more employees in England. The regulations were laid on 21 July 2021 with an implementation date of October 2022. Having considered the industry’s feedback, we have extended the implementation date to allow businesses enough time to prepare for these novel restrictions. For on pack promotions, the purpose of the transition period is to permit existing stock produced before October 2022 to be sold by relevant businesses until October 2023. However, whilst the on pack promotion is permitted to enable products to be sold between October 2022 and October 2023, the volume price promotion offer themselves must be void. After October 2023, products with on pack volume price promotions should not be sold in qualifying businesses. The regulations explain that specified food must not be offered for sale as part of a volume price promotion, including a promotion in which non specified food items are also included. Offers that are not volume price promotions do not fall in scope of the restrictions. ‘Meal deals’ will not be in scope of the volume price promotion restrictions. However, HFSS products under a category which is in scope would be subject to the location restrictions, regardless of whether it is part of a meal deal. The intention for the ‘relevant special offer’ definition in the regulations is to reflect deals where a ‘main’ included in the deal. In the spirit of the regulations, only relevant special offers that are intended for consumption as a ‘typical’ meal with a main should be out of scope of the volume price promotions restrictions.

Smoking: Young People

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish data comparing the rates of smoking among 18 to 24 year olds in Norway and in the UK for (a) 2000 and (b) 2020.

Maggie Throup: Data on smoking prevalence in Norway is available for 16 to 24 year olds. Daily smoking prevalence has fallen from 29% in 2000 to 1% in 2020. However, prevalence of occasional smoking among this age group has remained similar since 2000 and was 14% in 2020.Comparable data on smoking prevalence for the United Kingdom is not available. In England, current smoking prevalence among 16 to 24 year olds, which includes occasional smokers, fell from 32.9% in 2000 to 19.4% in 2019. In Great Britain, prevalence fell from 32.3% in 2000 to 18.3% in 2019. Data for smoking prevalence in England and Great Britain in 2020 is expected in December 2021.

Parkinson's Disease: Research

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) assessment has he made of the adequacy of current levels of funding available for research into cures for Parkinson's and (b) steps is he taking to increase research funding for that purpose.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Additionally, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funds research primarily through the Medical Research Council, the Biotechnology Biological Sciences Research Council, and the Economic and Social Research Council. From 2015/16 to 2019/20, the Government spent £114.8 million on research into Parkinson’s disease through the NIHR and UKRI. On 14 November 2021 we committed to invest £375 million over the next five years to improve understanding and treatment for a range of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease.

General Practitioners

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the availability of in-person GP appointments before the covid-19 outbreak and after the covid-19 lockdown restrictions have been eased.

Maria Caulfield: Face to face appointments remained available throughout the pandemic and NHS England and NHS Improvement have been clear that practices must provide both in person and remote consultations.Excluding COVID-19 vaccinations appointments, there were 1.30 million average appointments per working day in September 2021 compared to 1.26 million in September 2019, an increase of 3.5%. In September 2021, 60.8% of all appointments were face-to-face compared to 80.5% in September 2019. However, this was a 3.1% increase on August 2021 and the highest proportion of face-to-face appointments since March 2020.

Primary Health Care: Private Sector

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of the number of patients seeking private primary care as a result of NHS GP and referral waiting times in the periods (a) following the lifting of covid-19 lockdown restrictions and (b) before the covid-19 outbreak.

Maria Caulfield: The data requested is not collected centrally, therefore no assessment has been made.

General Practitioners

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure in-person appointments are available in all GP surgeries.

Maria Caulfield: On 14 October, we set out measures in ‘Our plan for improving access for patients and supporting general practice’ to support general practice over the winter period and in the longer term. This included an additional investment of £250 million in a Winter Access Fund to improve the availability of general practitioner (GP) practices and increase the number of face-to-face appointments, while also investing in technology to make it easier for patients to see or speak to their GP. We expect patients to experience the same high quality of care regardless of how they access their GP surgery.

General Practitioners: Coronavirus

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that GP surgeries can meet the demand for their services during the covid-19 outbreak.

Maria Caulfield: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell MP) on 9 November 2021 to Question 69132.

Hospitals: Construction

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2021 to Question 62857 on Hospitals: Construction, how many of the eight pathfinder trusts have asked his Department to release funding for the detailed design and enabling works required to help them meet the New Hospital Programme's timescales.

Edward Argar: All trusts in the pathfinder cohort have asked the Department to release funding for the detailed design and enabling works. Before any funding can be provided, business cases are submitted, which must follow the appropriate governance routes to ensure that the works demonstrate maximum value for money for the taxpayer. In some cases, this is still in progress. All schemes which are part of the programme remain on track, which will result in 40 new hospitals built by 2030.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact on people with chronic asthma of changes to the rules on receiving a booster covid-19 vaccination.

Maggie Throup: No such assessment has been made.

Mental Health Services: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that children at risk of harm with complex needs are not given out of area placements in mental health services.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that all children and young people with mental health conditions are able to receive placements in mental health services in their local area.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England and NHS Improvement have made additional funding available for medium term schemes nationally from 2020/21 to 2023/24. Initiatives include additional beds to allow children and young people to receive care and treatment closer to home, training for staff and capital to update units. While it is always the aim that people receive care and treatment as close to home as possible, there are times when a patient may be placed further from home. This may be either outside or inside the ‘natural clinical flow’ in their area, in which patients would usually be expected to utilise a particular service, or group of services.​Patients can be placed appropriately outside of their ‘natural clinical flow’ due to specific circumstances other than the lack of local capacity for the service required, which includes: ​- Patient, family or carer choice​;- Placement is close to family or carer​;- Safeguarding reasons​;- Offending restrictions in place; and​- Requires more specialised provision or specific clinical intervention​. Where an appropriate bed type is not available close to home, the admission placement is considered with the prime focus on clinical need and the urgency of the admission.

Social Services: Coronavirus

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of social care staff who have left their jobs as a result of changes to covid-19 vaccine requirements; and if he will publish that data.

Gillian Keegan: NHS England and NHS Improvement publish weekly statistics on the workforce size in care homes as part of their vaccination series. Data on the reasons for staff exit are not collected.

Disability: Children

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in the Department for Education on the provision of disabled children’s social care.

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in the Department for Education on the provision of disabled children's social care.

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions officials in his Department has had with officials in the Department for Education on the provision of disabled children’s social care.

Gillian Keegan: Officials have regular discussions with the Department for Education, including in relation to Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and implementation of the Building the Right Support national plan to reduce reliance on inpatient care for people with a learning disability and autistic people.This year councils have access to £51.3 billion to deliver their core services, including a £1.7 billion grant for social care. To support local areas, the Government has given over £6 billion in un-ringfenced funding directly to councils to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including for social care for disabled children.

Health Services: Children

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2021 to Question 72641, on Health Services: Children, whether his Department has issued guidance on the allocation of the NHS Covid Recovery Fund to SEND and CAMHS services by NHS providers; and whether his Department monitors how much funding from the NHS Covid Recovery Fund is being allocated to SEND and CAMHS by NHS providers.

Gillian Keegan: This specific guidance has not been issued. The funding provided is allocated to National Health Service providers based on their local plans and programmes, not to services specific to a particular patient group.

Disability: Children

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to tackle the backlog in disabled children’s health services.

Gillian Keegan: On 6 September, the Government announced plans to spend over £8 billion over the Spending Review period 2022/23 to 2024/25 for a programme to provide elective care delayed by the pandemic. We have also announced an additional £5.4 billion to support the National Health Service COVID-19 response over the next six months, bringing the total Government support to over £34 billion in 2021/22. This includes £2 billion to reduce the elective backlog and waiting times for patients, including disabled children.

Hospices

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support hospices.

Gillian Keegan: Most hospices are independent, charitable organisations that receive some statutory funding, mainly from clinical commissioning groups for providing local services. To support the palliative and end of life care sector, including hospices, NHS England and NHS Improvement have made funding available to seven palliative and end of life care strategic clinical networks to support the delivery of clinical care, with sustainability and commissioning as guiding principles.NHS England and NHS Improvement have also funded Hospice UK to explore sustainable approaches to future care delivery. Their ‘Future Vision Programme - Discovery Phase’ report sets out a range of options for exploring future sustainability.

Independent Mental Health Advocates

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help expand entitlement to independent mental health advocacy to voluntary or informal patients as part of his reforms of the Mental Health Act.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an opt-out independent mental health advocacy service as part of his reforms of the Mental Health Act.

Gillian Keegan: The white paper ‘Reforming the Mental Health Act’, published in January 2021, set out proposals to expand access to an advocate to voluntary or informal patients and to consider an ‘opt out model’. These proposals received significant support at public consultation and we are now exploring the associated costs and practicalities. This includes examining current independent mental health advocate uptake and existing opt out models which have been successfully implemented in some areas.

Mental Health Services: Autism and Learning Disability

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of (a) people with learning disabilities and (b) autistic people detained in inpatient mental health hospitals in England.

Gillian Keegan: In 2021/22, we are investing more than £90 million for community support and to facilitate the discharge of people with a learning disability and autistic people.The cross-Government Building the Right Support Delivery Board is responsible for progress in reducing the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health inpatient settings, through oversight of relevant activities and by commissioning specific workstreams. The Board is overseeing development of an Action Plan, which will complement the NHS Long Term Plan commitment to achieve at least a 50% reduction in the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people who are inpatients in mental health hospitals by 2023/24.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Madagascar: Climate Change

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what projects her Department is (a) funding or (b) helping to fund to support the people of Madagascar to adapt to the impact of climate change.

Vicky Ford: As COP26 Presidents, the UK is committed to driving action to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and support countries most vulnerable to climate change, such as Madagascar, adapt to its impacts. The UK is a long-standing supporter of adaptation to climate change in Africa, with around half of the UK's £2.7 billion adaptation budget between 2016 and 2020 spent across the continent. Ahead of COP26, we have contributed £175 million to the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership, operating across Africa, which aims to make 1 billion people safer from disasters globally by 2025 through expanding early action financing, improving early warning systems and building the capacity to act on the risks they identify. At COP26, the UK has strengthened these commitments, joining African nations and other donors in contributing £20 million to the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme - an African-owned initiative which aims to support at-risk communities in countries such as Madagascar build resilience to extreme weather - as well as an additional £42m for adaptation through our flagship Africa Regional Climate and Nature programme. The UK is also a major contributor to the World Bank International Development Association (IDA)'s large-scale infrastructure programme operating in Madagascar, which will support longer-term adaptation through the creation of multi-use water systems throughout the country's three southern regions.The UK also remains deeply concerned by the humanitarian crisis in southern Madagascar, which is driven by multiple factors including climate shocks. We are working closely with the UN, Government of Madagascar and other donors to ensure aid reaches those in need. In 2021, the UK has allocated £5 million to UN humanitarian agencies to provide life-saving food assistance, nutrition and health interventions, access to safe water and to reinforce humanitarian system coordination in southern Madagascar. This UK funding will reach 250,000 people, including the provision of food assistance in the form of emergency cash transfers to 132,000 people. In addition, the UK is a core contributor to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund which has allocated approximately £5.78 million to the international response this year.

Taiwan: Foreign Relations

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when officials in her Department last communicated with the office of the Lord Provost of Glasgow in relation to Taiwan; and if she will publish a minute of those discussions.

Amanda Milling: An official from Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office communicated with the office of the Lord Provost of Glasgow on Friday 12th November. As this was an informal discussion no minute was taken of the conversation.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the situation for Rohingya refugees in Bhasan Char in regards to (a) unlawful imprisonment, (b) access to food and (c) access to water.

Amanda Milling: We are concerned about reports of unlawful imprisonment of Rohingya refugees on Bhasan Char, and continue to stress to the Government of Bangladesh that any relocation of refugees to Bhasan Char island must be voluntary, safe, dignified and in accordance with international humanitarian principles and standards. We have also stressed the importance of freedom of movement.Some local Non-Governmental Organisations are supporting the provision of services on Bhasan Char, including access to food and water. We have been clear, along with the UN and multilateral banks, that we will not provide funding until we are sure that there is some freedom of movement, and that conditions on the island are safe and sustainable. We welcome recent progress made by the UN on operational planning, with technical teams now undertaking a set of assessments on the island to determine whether it is suitable to accommodate those who choose to relocate there.The Minister responsible for South Asia, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, visited Bangladesh this month, and raised the challenges on Bhasan Char with both the UN lead agencies and the Ministry for Disaster Management and Relief, stressing the importance of dignified treatment of all the refugees while they remain in Bangladesh.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Hikvision

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Hikvision CCTV or other surveillance software or equipment from Hikvision, is used on any property owned or administered by her Department.

Amanda Milling: As has been the case under successive Administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the security arrangements of government buildings. Specific details regarding the make and model of security systems are withheld on national security grounds.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Staff

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what effect the strategic workforce review will have on staffing levels in her Department.

Amanda Milling: Work is ongoing on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Strategic Workforce Plan, which will define the longer-term workforce size, skills and expertise that the department will require for the next three years. At this stage no decisions have been made.Our focus on strategic workforce planning will ensure that we have the right capabilities to deliver on our international priorities as set out in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy and the forthcoming International Development Strategy.

China: Religious Freedom

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussion she has had with her Chinese counterpart on promoting freedom of religious expression and belief in China in response to the removal of a Bible and Quran from the Apple App Store in China.

Amanda Milling: We are aware of reports concerning the removal of Bible and Quran apps from the Apple App Store in China. We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of religion or belief in China, including the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. The Foreign Secretary personally raised our concerns about the human rights situation in China with her Chinese counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on 22 October.

North Korea: Human Rights

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure accountability of the North Korean State for human rights abuses perpetrated against members of religious or belief groups in that country.

Amanda Milling: The UK has deep concerns about the lack of freedom of religion or belief in North Korea. Defending the right to freedom of religion or belief for all is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and is a key strand of our DPRK human rights strategy. We remain committed to implementing the recommendations from the Bishop of Truro's independent review on persecuted Christians in full. As G7 leaders made clear on 13 June and Foreign Ministers said on 5 May, we continue to urge North Korea to uphold all its human rights obligations. We regularly raise our concerns directly with the North Korean authorities and at the UN. We welcome and support the annual Human Rights Council and UNGA Third Committee resolutions on human rights in North Korea which stress the importance of following up recommendations from the UN Commission of Inquiry Report on Human Rights in the DPRK and provide the basis for further work on a credible framework for accountability for human rights violations in the country.

North Korea: Coronavirus

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government's commitment of £500 million to provide covid-19 vaccines through the COVAX scheme, how much of that funding is being used to provide vaccines to North Korea; and what safeguards are in place to help ensure that there is equitable access to vaccines for members of religious or belief-based minority communities.

Amanda Milling: As a country eligible to receive Covid-19 vaccines, we have encouraged North Korea to engage with the COVAX initiative but it has so far declined offers of assistance the initiative has made.

North Korea: Human Rights

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2021 to Question 38244 on North Korea: Human Rights, what progress she has made on assessing the findings of the July 2021 report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea; and what steps she plans to take in response to the policy recommendations of that report.

Amanda Milling: The July 2021 report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea contributes to our understanding of the human rights situation in the DPRK. We remain committed to continuing to push for action at all levels to bring pressure to bear on the government of the DPRK to address concerns about its human rights record and bring about permanent change. The UK is already active in many areas covered by the report's recommendations. We shine a spotlight on the DPRK's human rights record and call for action in multilateral fora such as the G7 and the Human Rights Council, calling on the DPRK to allow access for the UN Special Rapporteur, and to help enable a diplomatic and international presence in the DPRK as soon as possible. We press for annual debate in the UN Security Council on the DPRK human rights issues. We lobby countries where North Korean workers are still present for their return in accordance with UNSCR 2397 (2017). We call on the DPRK to account bilaterally and we keep under review whether further Global Human Rights sanctions on the DPRK are possible. We continue to monitor events and developments closely in the DPRK.

Forced Labour: China

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to sanction businesses that are complicit in the use of forced labour in Xinjiang, China.

Amanda Milling: On the 12th of January, the UK Government announced a series of robust measures in respect of UK supply chains to help ensure that no British organisations - government or private sector, deliberately or inadvertently - are profiting from or contributing to human rights violations against the Uyghurs or other minorities in Xinjiang. These measures include a review of export controls as they apply to Xinjiang, the introduction of financial penalties for organisations that fail to comply with their obligations under the Modern Slavery Act, and new, robust guidance to UK businesses on the specific risks faced by companies with links to the region.

Cameroon: Human Rights

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Government of Cameroon on the (a) treatment of the Anglophone minority and (b) protection of (i) civilians and (ii) human rights in that country.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government remains deeply concerned about the crisis in the North-West and South-West (Anglophone) regions of Cameroon, including the disturbing reports of human rights abuses and violations by both armed separatists and the security forces. We continue to raise the crisis with representatives of the Government of Cameroon, including through our High Commission in Yaounde, as well as within multilateral fora. My predecessor visited Cameroon in March and met President Biya, Prime Minister Ngute and Foreign Minister Mbella Mbella to push for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. HMG also urges the Government of Cameroon to engage fully with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. At the UN Security Council in June, the UK's Permanent Representative reiterated the UN Secretary General's call for the violence to end and for all actors to stop attacks against civilians. At the UN Human Rights Council in September, the UK called for an end to violence and impartial investigations to hold the perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses to account. We have since reiterated these calls in our engagements with the Government of Cameroon.

Developing Countries: Water

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department spent on water resilience projects in (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21; and what the projected spending is for those projects in 2021-22.

Wendy Morton: UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend is recorded in line with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Development Assistance Committee coding. This does not specifically record water resilience. Yearly UK bilateral ODA spend on water and sanitation, including water resilience, can be found in the respective Annual Statistics on International Development publications: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development.Following the recent spending review and autumn budget, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has started the process of allocating sectoral funding. This process should provide some more clarity on sector specific funding over the coming months.

Afghanistan: Embassies

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the Government will establish an embassy in Afghanistan.

James Cleverly: The British Embassy in Kabul has suspended operations. The UK Mission to Afghanistan based in Doha is leading our diplomatic, security and humanitarian engagement. We intend to re-establish a diplomatic presence in Kabul when the security and political situation in the country allows, and are coordinating this effort with allies.

Afghanistan: Humanitarian Situation

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help prevent a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan in winter 2021-22; and if the Government will (a) engage in talks with the Taliban and (b) provide aid to support the Afghan population without food.

James Cleverly: We are pressing the Taliban to respect international humanitarian law and principles, and to allow aid agencies to operate freely to meet needs in Afghanistan. The UK will spend £286 million on humanitarian and development needs in Afghanistan this year. On 31 October the Prime Minister announced that £50 million would be allocated to provide over 2.5 million Afghans with life-saving food, emergency health services, shelter and warm clothing to prepare for winter.

Colombia: Homicide

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the circumstances surrounding the armed attack that killed trade unionist María Dorfenis López Cordón and injured Rigoberto Cabanzo Arévalo in the Colombian region of Meta on 29 August 2021.

Wendy Morton: The British Government remains concerned about the persistent level of violence towards human rights' defenders and social leaders in Colombia. Through our Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund (CSSF), which has provided £68 million in support of peace agreement implementation, security, and stability in Colombia since 2015, we will continue to prioritise funding interventions to protect human rights' defenders, including trade unionists, and social leaders.Colombia is a UK 'Human Rights Priority Country,' and we consistently raise our concerns regarding violence against human rights defenders and social leaders at the UN Security Council, as we did at meetings in July, and on 14 October. We look to the Colombian Government to further integrate its presence in conflict-affected areas, and strengthen the institutions that can investigate and prosecute the criminal actors responsible. We will continue to raise our concerns with the relevant state actors in Colombia.

Spain: Travel

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to hold discussions with her Spanish counterpartson allowing more flexible access to Spain for UK nationals than that access allowed under the Schengen Agreement.

Wendy Morton: During negotiations with the EU, the Government discussed arrangements for British Citizens travelling to the Schengen Area. Regrettably, the EU consistently maintained that British Citizens will be treated as Third Country Nationals under the Schengen Borders Code as of 1 January 2021. This means that British Citizens are able to travel visa-free for short stays for up to 90 days in a rolling 180-day period. This is the standard length of stay that the EU offers to nationals of eligible third countries, in line with existing EU legislation. British Citizens who are planning to stay longer than 90 days in a rolling 180-day period will need permission from the relevant Member State. This may require applying for a visa and/or permit.The UK's Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU notes that both the UK and EU currently provide for visa-free travel for short-term visits for each other's nationals in accordance with their respective laws. The detail of those arrangements is set by domestic law, reflecting the UK's position as a non-EU Member State. The Government does not typically enter into bilateral agreements on visa-free travel.

Bosnia: Politics and Government

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage (a) political dialogue and (b) the peaceful resolution of disputes between political parties in Bosnia.

Wendy Morton: The UK remains committed to ensuring peace, and upholding international law in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). In the UN Security Council in recent weeks, we helped renew the EU's stabilisation force's (EUFOR's) mandate for a further 12 months, and supported the High Representative. The High Representative has an essential role in securing and maintaining lasting peace in BiH, and has the UK's full support, including for the use of executive powers should the situation require. The UK liaises closely with the EUFOR commander and his team on their vital work to ensure a safe and secure environment in BiH. We also support the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, including though the secondment of UK staff officers, who are building the capacity of the BiH Armed Forces. The UK also works closely with political parties, civil society and community leaders to support reconciliation efforts, to tackle legacy issues, and to build common purpose around a brighter future for all citizens. The UK rejects efforts to undermine BiH's stability, and will continue to support BiH in implementing domestic reforms and tackling challenges to peace and security.

Nord Stream 2 Pipeline

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the German Government's temporary block of the NordStream 2 Pipeline; and what discussions she has had with her European counterparts on reconsideration of that project.

Wendy Morton: In accordance with German law, the certification procedure for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been temporarily suspended by the German regulator for technical reasons. The Foreign Secretary has not raised this technical delay with her European counterparts. Decisions on German energy supply are ultimately a matter for Germany.The UK remains concerned about the impact Nord Stream 2 will have on European energy security and particularly on the interests of Ukraine. The UK will continue to work with Germany and other international partners to call on Russia to fulfil its international obligations.

Anoosheh Ashoori and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending diplomatic protection to Anoosheh Ashoori and Nazanin Ratcliffe.

James Cleverly: We have received Mr Ashoori's application for diplomatic protection. The Foreign Secretary is considering the matter carefully. In Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case, the Foreign Secretary was clear that diplomatic protection would not lead to an overnight resolution. We remain committed to securing Mr Ashoori's, Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe's and Mr Tahbaz's immediate and permanent release. The Foreign Secretary raised the UK's strong opposition to Iran's practice of detaining foreign and dual nationals with her Iranian counterpart on 8 November and will continue to do so. Our Ambassador in Tehran regularly raises Mr Ashoori's, Mr Tahbaz's and Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's cases with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the UN Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria ahead of the upcoming replenishment round.

Wendy Morton: The UK was pleased to join with others on the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to approve the Global Fund's new strategy for 2023-2028. This will underpin development of the investment case for the next replenishment. The UK Government continues to be a major donor to international health organisations and programmes, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO and the Global Fund.

Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations: Finance

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in the context of the UK hosting a 2022 summit to support the work of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), what funding plans the Government has for CEPI in each of the next three financial years.

Wendy Morton: As part of the Spending Review process, all future budgets are currently being finalised and we are not yet in a position to confirm individual allocations.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of deploying additional diplomatic efforts to avoid large-scale wastage of covid-19 vaccines around the world.

Wendy Morton: The UK is deploying our diplomatic influence, development expertise and money to support COVAX, a multilateral mechanism that aims to deliver equitable access by pooling resources to accelerate the development, manufacture, and delivery of Covid-19 vaccines. The UK is working with COVAX, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF, in support of country governments, to allocate vaccines according to need, to ensure rapid rollout of doses to priority groups and to prevent wastage. Ability to roll-out vaccines before they expire is a significant element of our planning of when and where the UK will deploy doses both domestically and with international partners. As part of the UK's G7 Presidency, we are working closely with the G7 to mobilise international financing, increase vaccine supply, build vaccine confidence and support in-country delivery, including through community mobilisation.

Mozambique: Politics and Government

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the political and security situation in Mozambique.

Vicky Ford: We welcome the news that Mozambican, Southern African Development Community and Rwandan Forces have recovered areas of Cabo Delgado, north-east Mozambique, that were previously under insurgent control. There is still work to be done and we look forward to the Government working with international partners to ensure humanitarian assistance reaches affected areas, and reconstruction can take place. We are working with the Government of Mozambique to address the root drivers of the conflict and instability, including by providing targeted assistance under the framework of a Defence Memorandum of Understanding. The UK is also working to strengthen international cooperation, and co-chairs with Ireland a high-level international taskforce on Cabo Delgado.

Members: Correspondence

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when she plans to provide a revised response to the letter dated 6 October 2021 from the hon Member for Cardiff West, relating to the case of Luke Symons.

James Cleverly: A reply was sent on 22 October. I [Mr Cleverly] sent a revised reply on 18 November.

Indo-Pacific Region: Climate Change

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department's news story, UK announces £274m boost to climate resilience across Indo-Pacific, published on 8 November 2021, from which budgets that funding will be provided; whether that funding has been previously announced; and whether her Department plans to distribute that funding in the form of grants or loans.

Vicky Ford: The funding for the Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA) programme comes from the UK's Official Development Assistance budget. This is a new programme providing adaptation finance and was announced for the first time at COP26 on the 8th November 2021. It will contribute to the UK's existing commitment to provide £11.6 billion in International Climate Finance, announced in 2019, including £3 billion towards protecting nature and biodiversity.The Department will provide funding for CARA in the form of grants. Our partners will then deploy a mix of technical assistance and capital investments to achieve the programme objectives.

UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will raise with her Moroccan counterpart the stamping of MINURSO passports by Morocco.

James Cleverly: We are closely monitoring the situation in Western Sahara. We have regular discussions with the parties and remain in close contact with the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The UK fully supports the UN's efforts to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

United Arab Emirates: Detainees

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if she will make representations to the Emirati government to invite independent impartial human rights monitoring bodies, including UN thematic special procedures, to that country and allow those bodies to visit detention centres and detainees.

James Cleverly: We encourage all states, including the United Arab Emirates, to uphold international human rights obligations. We believe that the best approach is to engage with Governments and work with international partners and civil society organisations to bring about positive change. Officials have raised cases in which there are allegations of human rights abuses with Emirati authorities.

United Arab Emirates: Interpol

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the report by Sir David Calvert-Smith entitled, Undue influence: the UAE and Interpol, published in April 2021, and the candidacy of Emirati Major General Nasser Ahmed al-Raisi for the Interpol presidency, what assessment (a) she and (b) officials in her Department have made of evidence in that report that the UAE misused the Interpol Red Notice system for minor offences and political gain against people seen as a threat to the regime.

James Cleverly: We are aware of this publication. INTERPOL is an independent organisation and is politically neutral in fulfilling its mandate. As with all elections for international organisations, the UK Government will review all candidates for the presidency of INTERPOL and consider our vote carefully. We are committed to the promotion of universal freedoms and human rights and we encourage all states, including the United Arab Emirates, to uphold international human rights obligations.On 9 September, the Home Secretary with her G7 counterparts committed to strengthening our collective efforts to deter the misuse of INTERPOL notices, to improperly target and detain individuals for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including through supporting INTERPOL's use of corrective measures, as appropriate and increasing outreach on this issue.

Western Sahara: Freedom of Expression

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she plans to take in response to the concerns of OHCHR on the restrictions imposed by Morocco on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in Western Sahara.

James Cleverly: Human rights, including freedom of expression, is a UK priority around the world. We raise human rights issues with Morocco accordingly and continue to monitor cases in Western Sahara.

Bahrain: Human Rights

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what specific human rights (a) issues and (b) cases Ministers in his Department raised with the Bahraini prime minister when they met at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow.

James Cleverly: We regularly raise human rights issues and individual cases with senior members of the Government of Bahrain, and continue to raise specific cases with senior interlocutors, as well as with the independent human rights oversight bodies.

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make representations to her Moroccan counterpart on (a) the inability of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to conduct any visits to Western Sahara during the last six years and (b) the resulting gaps in human rights monitoring in that non-self-governing territory.

James Cleverly: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has conducted several visits to Western Sahara since 2011, the latest of which was in January 2016. Details of these visits can be found on the OHCHR website. We have consistently supported language in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions which encourages the parties to continue their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara.

Western Sahara: Natural Resources

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will raise with her Moroccan counterpart the UN Human Rights Committee's recommendation that Morocco obtain the consent of the people of Western Sahara for the realisation of developmental projects and resource extraction operations.

James Cleverly: The UK notes the United Nations legal view from 2002, which stated that commercial activity in Western Sahara (including the exploration for, and exploitation of natural resources) is not inherently illegal but must be for the benefit of people of Western Sahara.

United Arab Emirates: Prisoners

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions (a) she and (b) officials in her Department have had with Emirati counterparts on the treatment, welfare and release of Emirati prisoners of conscience, including academic, Dr Nasser bin Ghaith, human rights defender, Ahmed Mansoor and human rights lawyer, Mohammed al-Roken.

James Cleverly: We are aware the cases of Ahmed Mansoor, Dr Nasser bin Ghaith and Mohammed al-Roken and the allegations of human rights abuses against them.  Officials have raised such cases with the Emirati authorities, including with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador in London. We encourage all states, including the UAE, to uphold international human rights obligations.

Iraq: Explosions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the accuracy of media reports that an explosion occurred on 7 November 2021 outside the Iraqi Prime Minister’s residential home in Baghdad.

James Cleverly: We condemn the attack on Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi that took place at the Prime Minister's home in Baghdad on 7 November. Prime Minister Johnson called Prime Minister Kadhimi later that day. He made clear that the UK stands by the Iraqi people and supports Prime Minister Kadhimi's call for calm and restraint. We stand with the Iraqi government, security forces and people in their rejection of political violence, and urge all disputes around the election to be settled through the proper legal channels.

Occupied Territories: Health Services

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK’s foreign aid programs for 2021-22 will support the delivery of essential healthcare services in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

James Cleverly: The UK remains firmly committed to ensuring access to essential healthcare services for Palestinians. We are a longstanding supporter to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which provides core services, including healthcare to Palestinian refugees. Our future spending allocations will be set in the next Spending Review and full budgets for 2021 will be published in due course, including in our regular Statistics on International Development website and in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office Annual Report and Accounts.

International Corruption Unit: Overseas Aid

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of cuts to Overseas Development Assistance on the budget of the National Crime Agency's International Corruption Unit.

James Cleverly: A thorough assessment was carried out in both financial years 2020/21 and 2021/22, of the potential impact of ODA budget reduction on the National Crime Agency's International Corruption Unit (ICU), and before any budget decision was made. Because of the importance of the ICU's work, FCDO decided to prioritise the ICU budget as far as possible, when deciding where to make required cuts to ODA.In 2020/21, the annual ICU budget was increased from £4.7m to £5.7million. In 2021/22, the budget was reduced by approximately 10% to £5.02 million. This was based on an assessment that the ICU would be able to manage this cut through not expanding into new areas, whilst preserving existing work and staffing. This remains above the pre-pandemic 2019/20 ODA budget of £4.7 million. The impact of the small budget reduction is regularly monitored by the Department.

Abduljalil al-Singace

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have made representations to their Bahraini counterparts in each of the last three months on the case of imprisoned human rights defender, Dr Abuljalil AlSingace.

James Cleverly: We continue to monitor and raise the case of Dr Abduljalil al-Singace and others as necessary, with the Bahraini Government as well as with the oversight bodies.

Abduljalil al-Singace

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the the oral answer of 26 October 2021 by the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Official Report, column 131, and whether he has raised the case of imprisoned human rights defender on hunger strike, Dr Abuljalil AlSingace in any bilateral meetings with Bahraini officials in (a) the UK and (b) Bahrain.

James Cleverly: We continue to monitor and raise the case of Dr Abduljalil al-Singace and others as necessary, with the Bahraini Government as well as with the oversight bodies.

Occupied Territories: Health Services

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the UK’s decision to reduce funding that supports the salaries of health and education workers in Palestine on the delivery of essential healthcare services in the occupied Palestinian territory.

James Cleverly: Following Official Development Assistance (ODA) prioritisation exercises undertaken in March 2021, the UK no longer provides direct funding to the Palestinian Authority to support the salaries of education workers and health professionals. The UK remains firmly committed to ensuring access to essential healthcare services for Palestinians. We are a longstanding supporter to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which provides core services, including healthcare to Palestinian refugees.

Ethiopia: Humanitarian Situation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the International Development Committee's Tenth Report of Session 2019-21, The Humanitarian Situation in Tigray, HC 1289, published on 30 April 2021, what steps her Department has taken to implement the recommendations set out in that report; what representations she is making to the Ethiopian government on ensuring protection for (a) Ethiopians from violence and (b) vulnerable communities in the region; what steps her Department is taking to enable access by independent monitors to Tigray to collect criminal evidence and bring those who are responsible to justice; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that humanitarian agencies have access to vulnerable communities in (i) Tigray and (ii) neighbouring regions.

Vicky Ford: The UK Government welcomed the International Development Committee's (IDC) report "The humanitarian situation in Tigray" published on 30 April and our response to the recommendations highlighted in the report is available to view online (https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmintdev/554/55402.htm).We are extremely concerned by reports of widespread human rights violations and abuses in Ethiopia. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Deputy Prime Minister Demeke on 5 November. HM Ambassador Addis Ababa spoke to Prime Minister Abiy on 28 October. I raised my concerns with Deputy Foreign Minister Redwan on 18 November. We support the conclusions of the joint investigation by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which collected harrowing evidence from Tigray. It is essential that all those responsible for human rights violations and abuses be held to account. All parties must implement the report's recommendations and ensure that victims have access to support.The humanitarian context in Tigray is catastrophic. To avert region-wide famine and massive loss of life we are clear that the Government of Ethiopia must lift the blockade of Tigray and allow aid in. The humanitarian crisis now extends beyond Tigray impacting millions of people in Afar and Amhara following attacks by the Tigray Defence Force (TDF). The TDF's advance must stop and the TDF must allow humanitarian supplies and commercial goods to reach all areas of need. On 16 October, I announced an additional £29 million of humanitarian aid to people affected by the conflict in northern Ethiopia. This increased the UK's commitment to the crisis to more than £76 million making the UK the second largest donor.

Hezbollah

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the threat of Hezbollah-related organised crime to (a) the UK and (b) European allies.

James Cleverly: We condemn Hizballah's criminal and terrorist activity. The UK proscribes Hizballah in its entirety as a terrorist organisation and has an asset freeze in place against the entire organisation. The UK works with partners around the world to coordinate action and combat organised crime groups operating across borders.

Iran: Detainees

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of an international all-faith delegation to Tehran to petition for the release of Nazanin Zaghiari Ratcliffe and other dual citizens being detained within the Islamic Republic of Iran.

James Cleverly: We remain committed to doing all we can to ensure that British nationals being unfairly detained by Iran are released and allowed to return home to be reunited with their families. We engage international and likeminded partners on these efforts where we deem it helpful to do so.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Coronavirus

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many covid-19 vaccines have been provided by the UK to each sub-Saharan African country (a) directly, (b) via Covax and (c) via other initiatives in 2021 as of 9 November 2021.

Vicky Ford: The UK has contributed £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which aims to provide up to 1.8 billion doses to low and middle-income countries by early 2022. Our G7 Presidency also secured agreement from leaders to share and finance an additional 1 billion doses by mid-2022. This includes a commitment from the UK to share 100 million doses, 80% of which will go through COVAX.As of 9 November, the UK has provided 410,000 doses directly to Kenya. In addition to the financial contribution, a further 4,919,680 doses have been donated via COVAX and delivered to the following Sub-Saharan countries: Malawi (119,040), Angola (128,640), Ghana (249,600), Zambia (119,200), Senegal (140,160), Uganda (299,520), Kenya (407,040), Democratic Republic of Congo (51,840), Nigeria (1,292,640), Ethiopia (1,664,640), Niger (105,600), Mozambique (188,160) and Rwanda (153,600).

Sudan: Overseas Aid

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of funding allocated by the Government in response to the Tigray crisis is supporting refugees in Sudan; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that communities that are persecuted as a result of their religion or belief have equal access to that aid within Sudan.

Vicky Ford: The conflict in Tigray has had significant consequences and has displaced millions of people including more than 63,000 Ethiopian refugees who have sought safety in Sudan. The UK has provided £6.1 million in funding to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the Danish Refugee Council to address urgent needs arising from the Tigray crisis in Sudan. This is part of an overall UK's commitment to of more than £76 million to respond to the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict, making the UK the second largest donor.Our priority is to ensure that all Ethiopians in need, irrespective of ethnicity, religion and political affiliation, receive life-saving aid and that humanitarian access to areas affected by insecurity is maintained. Humanitarian operations in Tigray have come to a standstill owing to the de facto blockade imposed by the Ethiopian Government since late June. Prior to the blockade, UK funded partners were working in the most challenging circumstances to provide life-saving assistance to displaced persons, refugees and others. I have called on all parties in Ethiopia to urgently agree a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid through and for the Ethiopian Government to lift the blockade of humanitarian relief into the Tigray region. I reiterated this at the Westminster Hall Debate on 3 November and in my tweet on the same day. We continue to push both sides of the conflict to prioritise the wellbeing of people in need in northern Ethiopia and allow the flow of badly needed humanitarian assistance.

Nuclear Weapons

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions has he had with his counterparts in China and the US on nuclear weapons.

James Cleverly: Nuclear cooperation remains an important element of the enduring special relationship between the US and the UK. Discussions between the Foreign and Defence Secretaries and their US counterparts are reflected and supported by daily cooperation at official level on arms control, nuclear deterrence policy, counter proliferation and strategic stability between the UK and the US, as well as by wider cooperation with NATO Allies.The UK engages regularly with Chinese officials and civil society on nuclear issues, including through our annual dialogue on Counter Proliferation and discussions with the Chinese Arms Control and Disarmament Association. We discuss nuclear issues with both China and the US within the P5 Process.

Africa: Climate Change

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK's international climate change strategy on poverty in African countries.

Vicky Ford: Tackling climate change and biodiversity is the UK Government's number one international priority as set out in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published in March 2021. Evidence shows that poorer people are more vulnerable to the impact of climate change and unless addressed now, these impacts will represent an obstacle to the sustained eradication of poverty. Africa is the continent most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. From cyclones in Southern Africa to locusts in East Africa, changing weather patterns are already having catastrophic impacts for communities living across the continent, impacting lives and livelihoods.As COP26 President, the UK is committed to driving action to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and support countries that are most vulnerable to adapt to the impacts of climate change. This will be crucially important for communities in Africa, where the impacts of climate change are already being felt. The UK is a long-standing supporter of African adaptation, with around half of our £2.7 billion adaptation budget between 2016 and 2020 spent in Africa. We have strengthened these commitments at COP26, contributing £20 million to the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme to support African countries in designing and implementing transformational adaptation of their economies and post-COVID recovery. We have provided a guarantee to the African Development Bank, releasing up to $2 billion of climate finance - half of which will be for adaptation. We also recognise the importance of Africa's forested areas to mitigating climate change impacts and limiting global temperature rise. At the World Leaders Summit Forests and Land Use Event, the UK contributed £200 million to a landmark £1.1 billion donor pledge to protect the Congo Basin - the world's second largest rainforest - and support the region's long-term green economic development. These commitments demonstrate that Africa is at the heart of our approach to climate and nature.

Palestinians: Textbooks

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 25 January 2021 to Question 143050 on Palestinians: Textbooks, how many mistakes in educational material published by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency UNRWA have been identified by UNRWA since 1 January 2020.

James Cleverly: We strongly condemn all forms of violence and incitement to violence. We accompany our support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) with stringent attention to implementation of their neutrality policy, including how they apply this to textbooks and other learning material to ensure they reflect UN values. We understand that UNRWA has continued to review and address any education materials in breach of its policies. We remain confident that UNRWA has taken the issue seriously and has taken steps to improve their risk management system and quality assurance of educational materials.

East Africa: Conflict Resolution

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department spent on peace building programmes in (a) Sudan, (b) South Sudan and (c) Ethiopia in (i) 2018-19, (ii) 2019-20 and (iii) 2020-21; and what the projected spending is on those programmes in 2021-22.

Vicky Ford: In Sudan, the UK provided over £12 million to support peacebuilding through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) from 2018 to 2021 (£4.3 million in 2018, £5.1 million in 2019/20, and £2.7 million in 2020/21). The CSSF supported a range of interventions related to community security, local peacebuilding and combatting sexual and gender-based violence. This funding focused on enhancing peacebuilding efforts through; developing and sharing better evidence and best practice for those working on peacebuilding; improving the human rights situation and access to justice; and supporting Sudan peace negotiations in Juba. We are reviewing our assistance (with the exception of humanitarian aid) in light of the military coup on 25 October.In South Sudan, between April 2018 and March 2021, the UK provided £14.6 million in CSSF funding related to peacebuilding activities. This includes the South Sudan 'Peacebuilding Opportunities Fund' (POF), which has funded inter-community peace dialogues in four areas of the country since 2019. In 2021, the POF supported mediation efforts in Jonglei, one of South Sudan's most conflict-affected areas, and culminated in the Pieri Action for Peace Agreement. Implementation of this so far has led to a significantly lower level of conflict than in previous years and improved inter-communal relations. The UK has provided £3.1 million of support to the POF to date. The project continues until March 2022, and the budget for the final year (April 2021-March 2022) is £1 million.In Ethiopia, UK CSSF has funded peacebuilding NGO Conciliation Resources to support peacebuilding efforts in Somali Regional State. Between 2019-2021, this programme spent £1.325 million and supported structures and processes to sustainably resolve violent conflicts between communities. This included providing advice to former armed groups (notably the Ogadan National Liberation Front) as they transition to participate in Ethiopian party politics, the development of a Peace and Unity Council, the establishment of a Regional Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and support to survivors of human rights abuses. Based on the success of the programme, this work is being developed further with an additional £500,000 allocated for June 2021-March 2022.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings she has had with foreign counterparts on the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe since her appointment.

James Cleverly: Iran's decision to proceed with these baseless further charges against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is an appalling continuation of the cruel ordeal she is going through. Instead of threatening to return Nazanin to prison Iran must release her permanently so she can return home. I have discussed Nazanin's ordeal, alongside that of Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on 8 November as did Minister Cleverly with Deputy Foreign Minister Bagheri Kani, 11 November. I have spoken to Nazanin twice since taking up this role and met her family most recently on 28 October to reiterate my commitment to securing her release. In addition, I hold regular meetings with officials to direct activity across the FCDO to secure her release. We will not stop working until those dual British nationals being unfairly detained by Iran are released.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Government’s strategy to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe.

James Cleverly: Iran's decision to proceed with these baseless further charges against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is an appalling continuation of the cruel ordeal she is going through. Instead of threatening to return Nazanin to prison Iran must release her permanently so she can return home. I have discussed Nazanin's ordeal, alongside that of Anoosheh Ashoori and Morad Tahbaz with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on 8 November as did Minister Cleverly with Deputy Foreign Minister Bagheri Kani, 11 November. I have spoken to Nazanin twice since taking up this role and met her family most recently on 28 October to reiterate my commitment to securing her release. In addition, I hold regular meetings with officials to direct activity across the FCDO to secure her release. We will not stop working until those dual British nationals being unfairly detained by Iran are released.

Afghanistan: Economic Growth

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote and support economic growth in Afghanistan.

James Cleverly: We are monitoring the situation in Afghanistan closely, including the rapid reduction in economic growth. We have committed to provide £286 million in humanitarian and development support and continue to explore the best ways to provide support to the Afghan people.

Commonwealth: Capital Punishment

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will hold discussions with her counterparts in Commonwealth countries on ending the death penalty for (a) minors and (b) people who are mentally incapacitated.

James Cleverly: It is the longstanding policy of the UK Government to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, especially in cases that do not meet the minimum standards defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We regularly engage with governments, including in Commonwealth countries, on human rights and the death penalty.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Officers: Females

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has received on the suitability  and safety of women prison officers carrying out their duties between the ages of 60 and 68.

Victoria Atkins: Prison officers need to be capable of performing specific tasks to a certain standard to ensure their safety and the safety of everyone else, including prisoners and work colleagues. All prison officers who joined after 1 April 2001 must pass an annual fitness test in order to remain in a prison officer role. Staff who do not meet the annual fitness test standard will be provided with advice and support by a fitness assessor on achieving and maintaining the required fitness level. Following an Occupational Health (OH) referral, management can discuss and consider options for redeployment to roles that don’t require the Prison Officer fitness level. There are many factors which determine a person’s ability to pass a fitness test which are often not determined by age, sex or gender alone. No adjustment to the fitness test is made based on age, sex or gender because they are not the determining factor on passing the test and fitness levels between employees of either sex or gender at all ages can vary. Adjustments are considered and may be offered on the advice of an occupational health practitioner.

Prisons: Repairs and Maintenance

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost was of planned maintenance for HM Prisons in England and Wales in each year from 2012 to 2018.

Victoria Atkins: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Prison and Probation Service: Pay

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on (a) recruitment, (b) morale and (c) retention of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service staff of the Government’s pay policy for public-sector workers.

Victoria Atkins: Pay awards for this financial year across HMPPS are subject to the public sector pay pause, introduced by the Chancellor in 2020. This has assisted Government in protecting public sector jobs and investment in public services as Covid-19 continues to have an impact. The Secretary of State announced the prison pay award on 19 October, which delivered a pay increase of £250 to those earning less than £24,000, and progression pay of up to 5% for those who are eligible. Even with the restrictions of public sector pay policy for this year, this year’s award sees over half of prison service staff receive an increase to their pay. My Department is also currently engaging with our recognised trade unions on the 2021/22 pay award for the Probation Service, which – like the prison pay award – will be backdated to April 2021. I welcome the Chancellor’s recent budget announcement regarding public sector pay, which will see public sector pay from 2022 return to a normal pay setting process. Following this announcement, we are developing proposals for a pay and reward package for all our staff over the coming years. Recruitment and retention and morale are driven by a range of factors, including pay, staff health and wellbeing, leadership and line management, and how safe, secure and supported officers feel at work. When making decisions over pay, it is important that the department balances investment proportionally across these issues.

Young Offenders: Females

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report, Out of sight: Girls in the Children and Young People’s Secure Estate, published by Centre for Mental Health on 5 October 2021, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, (b) the Secretary of State for Education and (c) the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on steps that can be taken to improve early interventions in the community for girls at risk of involvement with the criminal justice system.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report, Out of sight: Girls in the Children and Young People’s Secure Estate, published by Centre for Mental Health on 5 October 2021, what steps he is taking to reduce the use of remand for girls.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report, Out of sight: Girls in the Children and Young People’s Secure Estate, published by Centre for Mental Health on 5 October 2021, what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of the use of short custodial sentences for girls.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report, Out of sight: Girls in the Children and Young People’s Secure Estate, published by the Centre for Mental Health on 5 October 2021, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations in that report in relation to (a) girls from racialised communities in the children’s and young people’s secure estate, (b) transitions into the children's and young people's secure estate, (c) girls’ placement far from home, (d) gender-responsive approaches, (e) use of force/restraint with girls, (f) educational, vocational and growth opportunities, (g) self-harm, (h) transitions to adult settings, (i) transition to inpatient settings, (j) residential accommodation issues, (k) workforce issues, (l) girls from LGBTQ+ communities, (m) Mother and Baby Units for teenage girls and (n) research and data monitoring.

Victoria Atkins: To better understand the needs and care pathways of girls in the youth secure estate, the Youth Custody Service and NHS England & Improvement co-commissioned the Centre for Mental Health to undertake this report. We are considering all the recommendations carefully. The report will inform our strategy for girls and helping us to continue to build a gender-responsive approach to children in custody. HMI Prisons is conducting a thematic on girls in custody which will also feed into our strategy. The Ministry of Justice is undertaking and supporting a range of community-based interventions to address underlying causes of offending behaviour by children and young people, including girls. MoJ ministerial and official engagement has contributed to, for example, DLUHC’s Supporting Families programme; DfE’s programmes (such as the Alternative Provision and the Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed taskforces) and on Family Hubs; and DHSC’s Long Term Plan rollout of the Community Integrated Care Framework. Custody should always be a last resort for all children. Measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will tighten the tests courts must apply in order to remand children in custody and will strengthen community sentencing options. This will better ensure that remand and short custodial sentences are only used for girls where necessary and appropriate. The department is also undertaking a review into youth remand and will publish its findings in due course.

Domestic Abuse: Child Rearing

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of cases in which allegations of parental alienation have been made by an alleged perpetrator of domestic abuse.

James Cartlidge: Incidences of alleged parental alienation by either parent in relation to family proceedings about child arrangements are not recorded centrally. Such information can only be obtained from individual case files at disproportionate cost.

Family Courts: Training

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) organisations and (b) other relevant stakeholders have been contacted by his Department on the matter of introducing a wide range of training for all participants in the family justice system.

James Cartlidge: The Lord Chief Justice, the Senior President of Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for judicial training, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009 respectively. These responsibilities are exercised through the Judicial College.Additional training requirements for all family justice professionals involved in the private law reform pilots are being developed.

Family Courts: Parents

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on the review of the application of the presumption of parental involvement in the family courts, announced on 9 November 2020.

James Cartlidge: The Government launched the review into the presumption of parental involvement in child arrangements cases in November 2020. This review focuses on understanding how the presumption, together with its ‘risk of harm’ exception, is applied by the courts, including where there is evidence to suggest that the involvement of a parent will put the child at risk of harm. It also focuses on the impact on children’s welfare of the courts’ application of the presumption and its exception. An Advisory Group was established in November 2020 to inform the direction of the review, which has faced delays, largely due to COVID 19 restrictions. Work on the literature review, the qualitative research project, and the case file analysis continues.

Child Rearing

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the use of parental alienation accusations in the family courts.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the implementation of the recommendations made by his Department's expert panel on reforming the family court response to domestic abuse, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that accurate data is collected on the (a) number of allegations made of parental alienation and (b) outcome of child contact in cases where those allegations are made.

James Cartlidge: Incidences of alleged parental alienation by either parent in relation to family proceedings about child arrangements are not recorded centrally. Such information can only be obtained from individual case files at disproportionate cost.In assessing the child’s best interests, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) assess and report any concerns about alienating behaviours to the court, focusing on the impact on the child’s safety and welfare and in the context of wider family dynamics. Parents are also able to inform the court of any concerns they may have about the other parent. Cafcass’ Child Impact Assessment Framework includes various tools and guidance that further support social work practitioners in identifying where a child expresses reluctance to have an ongoing relationship with a parent, including domestic abuse, persistent and harmful conflict and alienating behaviours.

Courts

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to tackle the rise of cases being withdrawn due to court delays and case backlogs.

James Cartlidge: We continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had on our criminal justice system. We have allocated over a quarter of a billion pounds on recovery in the last financial year, making court buildings safe, rolling out new technology for remote hearings, recruiting additional staff and opening Nightingale courtrooms, including retaining 32 Nightingale Court rooms until the end of March 2022. We are now focused both on increasing capacity of the criminal courts and maximising use of that which we already have in areas where it is needed most. There is no limit on the number of days Crown Courts can sit this financial year. The department is also working closely with the judiciary to ensure we have the capacity required to maximise the number of court hearings taking place this year and to minimise disruption to cases listed for hearings. The Spending Review will also provide an extra £477m for the criminal justice system to meet the increased demand from additional police officers and to recover performance following the pandemic.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: ICT

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the HM Courts and Tribunal Service Common Platform roll-out.

James Cartlidge: The Common Platform will help make the criminal justice system more efficient, effective, timely, transparent and resilient for everyone. It is replacing a network of existing systems in both the Crown and Magistrates’ Courts that are coming to the end of their life and will no longer be fit for purpose in a modern court system. It is central to the wider HMCTS reform programme, and vital to bringing about improvements for collecting and managing data.

Prison Officers: Pension Age

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Prison Officers Association on the prison officer pension age.

Victoria Atkins: Soon after being appointed, I met the Prison Officer’s Association for our introductory meeting at which a range of issues were raised, including pension age. I intend to meet the POA and other trade unions regularly to discuss matters relating to staff welfare and working conditions.

Department for International Trade

UK Export Finance: Recruitment

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many full time equivalent individuals have been hired to work for UK Export Finance as (a) interim managers, (b) specialist contractors and (c) temporary members of staff through the public sector resourcing framework managed by Alexander Mann Solutions Ltd in financial years (i) 2018-19, (ii) 2019-20, (iii) 2020-21 and (iv) 2021-22 up to the end of October 2021.

Mike Freer: Using the public resourcing sector framework managed by Alexander Mann Solutions Ltd, UK Export Finance hired: Financial yearInterim managers*Specialist contractors*Temporary staff*2018/194282019/2071062020/2191182021/228104 *The numbers quoted are full time equivalents

UK Export Finance: Legal Opinion

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the £40 million contract for the provision of a General Aerospace Legal Panel, put out to tender by her Department on 5 November 2021, is reserved for UK companies only.

Mike Freer: The General Aerospace Legal Panel is not reserved to UK companies only.

UK Export Finance: Legal Opinion

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to her Department's procurement exercise for the General Aerospace Legal Panel, reference 260167/1011745, if she will publish the business case for the expenditure of £40 million on the provision of a General Aerospace Legal Panel.

Mike Freer: The purpose of the General Aerospace Legal Panel is to procure a panel of law firms to provide specialist legal advice and representation to UK Export Finance (UKEF), primarily in relation to when it provides ‘financing’ support to exporters in the aviation sector. The cost of such legal advice provided by the panel firm is typically met by the borrower rather than UKEF. The contract value advertised is the maximum value that can be spent through the framework during its four year term through subsequent call-off contracts and not the value of any committed spend.

Department for International Trade: Hikvision

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether Hikvision CCTV or other surveillance software or equipment from Hikvision, is used on any property owned or administered by her Department.

Penny Mordaunt: It is not government policy to comment on security procedures in government buildings.

Department for International Trade: Telephone Services

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, under the terms of the contract agreed by her Department on 26 August 2021 for provision of an Export Support Services Contact Centre, on what date her Department is due to receive the first profit and audit transparency reports from the supplier; and if she will publish a copy of those reports upon their receipt.

Mike Freer: HGS UK Ltd is committed to providing a transparency report to the Department for International Trade. The report will not be published as it will contain commercially sensitive information.

Church Commissioners

Christianity: Asylum

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether he has had recent discussions with the Church of England on the number of asylum seekers who have converted to Christianity in the last year.

Andrew Selous: Specific discussion on that issue has not taken place. Data are not kept on the nationality or migration status of those who seek Baptism. Baptism is a sacrament ordained by God and must always be open to anyone regardless of race, nationality or status, so long as they meet the requirements set out in Canon law.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Fines

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2021 to Question 68119, on Ministry of Defence: Fines, what specific contract was given by his Department retrospectively.

Jeremy Quin: The fine detailed in Question 68119 related to approvals of some 36 contracts over a number of years up to 2016 covering a range of infrastructure activities and locations. The Department notified HM-Treasury (HMT) as soon as the matter was identified, and retrospective approval was sought. A detailed review was also undertaken in 2016 resulting in the implementation of improvements to approval processes in the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and no further fines for such process failures have been incurred since.

Ministry of Defence: Hikvision

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Hikvision CCTV, or other surveillance software or equipment from Hikvision, is used on any property owned or administered by his Department.

Jeremy Quin: As has been the case under successive Governments, it is not Defence policy to comment on the security arrangements of our establishments and sites. Specific details regarding the make and model of security systems are withheld on national security grounds.

Ministry of Defence Guard Service: Conditions of Employment

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2021 to Question 44294, Ministry of Defence Guard Service: Conditions of Employment, what evidence  his Department holds that indicates the levels of security at UK military bases are unaffected by the introduction of Operational MGS Employment Contracts.

Leo Docherty: Security at UK military bases is unaffected by the introduction of the Operational MGS Employment Contract. The Military Guard Service's (MGS) delivery of priority security tasks across the Defence estate has not been impacted. This is evidenced by weekly MGS delivery performance data.

Ministry of Defence Guard Service: Conditions of Employment

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2021 to Question 44293 on Ministry of Defence Guard Service: Conditions of Employment, what assessment he has made of the merits of specifically assessing the potential effect of the introduction of Operational MGS Employment Contracts for civilian guards at UK military bases on levels of staff fatigue.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2021 to Question 44293 on Ministry of Defence Guard Service: Conditions of Employment, whether a Health and Safety Executive Fatigue Risk Management system was established before the introduction of Operational MGS Employment Contracts.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2021 to Question 44294 on Ministry of Defence Guard Service: Conditions of Employment, what account the assessment took of the effect of fatigue on (a) concentration and (b) vigilance levels of MGS staff.

Leo Docherty: The effect of fatigue on the Operational MGS Employment Contract (OMEC) personnel has been considered. Current assessments of rostered working patterns for all MGS personnel against UK Working Time Regulations are considered effective to keep employees safe in the workplace. Fatigue-related risks and issues associated with the introduction of OMEC are managed by the existing MOD Guard Service risk management process. No new Health and Safety Executive fatigue risk management system was established before the introduction of OMEC. All aspects of employee wellbeing, including fatigue management, are routinely considered in accordance with MOD Civilian Policy, Rules and Guidance.

Ministry of Defence: Aviation

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has paid to other national governments for the receipt of charter air transport since January 2021.

Jeremy Quin: UK Defence routinely charters aircraft from charter airlines globally to meet defence needs.In the period in question no money was paid to national governments for the provision by them of air charter services. However, the UK is part of the Movements Co-ordination Centre Europe (MCCE), a multinational organisation that facilitates the exchanges of excess Air Mobility capacity. Since 1 Jan 21 MCCE facilitated Air Transport services have been provided to the UK by a number of different NATO partners and the UK has similarly provided reciprocal services where these have been available and required.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment: Parkinson's Disease

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has she made of the (a) accessibility of the personal independence payment for people with Parkinson's disease and (b) potential impact of personal independence payment assessments on people living with that disease.

Chloe Smith: People with Parkinson’s disease are able to access PIP in the same way as other people with long-term health conditions or disabilities. A variety of reasonable adjustments can be made to the claims process and associated communications for customers who require them. Claimants are encouraged to attend assessments with a companion should additional support be required. Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is assessed on the daily living and mobility needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. The assessment is carried out by qualified healthcare professionals and looks at an individual’s ability to carry out everyday activities which are fundamental to living an independent life, including their ability to prepare, cook and eat food, dress and undress, make budgeting decisions, manage and monitor their health condition, and plan and follow journeys. The assessment ensures that the greatest level of support goes to those least able to carry out the activities.

Universal Credit: Rents

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason deductions are not made directly from Universal Credit and paid to Landlords to cover rent.

David Rutley: The payment of Universal Credit to claimants is a considered design choice. The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure are fundamental parts of its design. They help reduce welfare dependency by mirroring the world of work, where the majority of people are paid monthly. Ensuring similarities between paid employment and receiving benefits removes an important barrier which could prevent claimants from moving into paid employment. For those who cannot manage their single monthly payment, Alternative Payment Arrangements, and more specifically a Managed Payment to Landlord, is available at the start or at any point during a Universal Credit claim.

Unemployment: Coventry North East

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the (a) unemployment and (b) youth unemployment rates in Coventry North East constituency; what assessment her Department has made of the factors that have contributed to those unemployment rates being disproportionately higher in Coventry North East than the equivalent UK rates; and what targeted action her Department is taking to reduce unemployment in Coventry North East constituency.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member of 28 July 2021, reference RL24952.

Guy Opperman: Despite a thorough search, we are unable to locate any correspondence from the hon. Member for this reference or date. We have contacted the hon. Member’s office for further information.

Members: Correspondence

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the email of 9 November 2021, reference ZA54061, from the hon. Member for Tottenham regarding the waiting time for National Insurance number applications.

Guy Opperman: The email in question was dated 5 November 2021 and a response was sent on 9 November 2021.

Social Security Benefits

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what equality impact assessment has been made of the effect on benefit and pension claimants no longer being able to redeem cash from ATMs and cashpoints with the new Payment Exception Service cards following the closure of the previous Post Office cards.

Guy Opperman: The Equality Assessment showed no impact relating to the protected characteristic groups for the new Payment Exception Service; Post Office card account customers were able to use Post Office branded ATM’s to cash their payments, however, this was not extended to ATM’s more generally.

Social Security Benefits

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential cost converting to the Payment Exception Service payment card scheme from the current Post Office card account system.

Guy Opperman: The Department is realising a reduction in costs by encouraging use of transactional bank building society, credit union or internet based accounts, for benefit claimants and pensioners that are able to provide such an account, and contracting for a single payment exception service, for benefit claimants and pensioners that do not.

Pensions and Social Security Benefits

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what equality impact assessment has been made of the impact of benefit and pension Payment Exception Service users being required to collect payment claims by a 90 day expiration date.

Guy Opperman: The Equality Assessment showed no impact relating to the protected characteristic groups for the new Payment Exception Service. A 90-day expiry date ensures the Department is alerted where a benefit claimant or pensioner has not cashed a voucher and may require additional support to access their payments. The Department can then put in place and re-issue payments where appropriate.

Social Security Benefits and State Retirement Pensions

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an estimate of the number of people claiming (a) benefits and (b) state pensions who do not have a bank account.

Guy Opperman: Under successive governments of different persuasions, the Department has never held information on the reason that benefit claimants or pensioners do not provide details of a transactional account. In October 2021, there were less than 300k active Post Office accounts.

Pensions and Social Security Benefits

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what equality impact assessment has been of benefit and pension claimants being required to provide proof of identity when cashing vouchers under the new Payment Exception Service.

Guy Opperman: The Equality Assessment showed no impact relating to the protected characteristic groups for the new Payment Exception Service; all users are required to show proof of identity. A wide range of documents are accepted as proof of identity including a recent benefit entitlement letter, which is available on request by everyone in receipt of a DWP payment for State Pension or benefit.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Sewage: Northwich

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of raw sewage discharges on the river Weaver at Northwich; and what steps he is taking to reduce those discharges.

Rebecca Pow: The impact of the storm overflows that discharge to the River Weaver, including those in Northwich, was last assessed through modelling in 2013. This led to three storm overflow discharges being improved in United Utilities Water improvement programme for 2015-20, and a further storm overflow discharge is being improved during the current, 2020-25, programme.In addition, monitors that record the duration of spills were installed on the majority of storm overflows in Northwich during 2015-20. Data from these monitors will inform United Utilities Water’s work to investigate further action that may be taken in the current price programme (2020-25).The Government has been clear that the current level of sewage discharges from storm overflows is unacceptable. That is why earlier this year, the Government consulted on a draft of its new strategic policy statement to the industry’s independent regulator Ofwat, which set out that we expect it to incentivise water companies to take steps to “significantly reduce the frequency and volume of sewage discharges from storm overflows, so they operate infrequently”. This publication strongly influences investment decisions and is one of Government’s key tools in driving action from water companies. The Environment Act now contains a new duty directly on water companies to reduce progressively the adverse impacts of storm overflow discharges, making the expectation we have already set out in the draft policy statement unequivocal in law.

Dairy Farming

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the development of value-added operations within the diary sector.

Victoria Prentis: Dairy is the largest agricultural sector playing a vital role in the British economy and we want to see it produce, sell, and export more of our great British dairy products. The sector is world renowned with a strong reputation for quality, built on high animal welfare standards, strong environmental protection, traceability, and sustainability. This is a strong basis on which to sell more of our produce at home and abroad, increasing overall value in the sector. Our new £27 million Farming Investment Fund also opened on 16 November. This will provide grants to farmers so that they can invest in the equipment, technology and infrastructure that will help their businesses to prosper, while improving their productivity and further enhancing the environment. The Fund will help them to focus on more efficient production methods, to reduce resource costs, to improve yields, and to provide a better return. We intend future rollout of the Fund will support producers who want to process and add value to their products, to create new products, or to sell their produce directly to consumers. More information on the Fund is available at the following link.The Farming Investment Fund launches today - Future Farming (blog.gov.uk)

Sewage: Swansea Bay

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much raw sewage has been released without treatment from English coastal towns on the Severn estuary and Bristol Channel in each of the last three years.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency does not hold the data for the volume of sewage released by storm overflows. Working with water companies, the Environment Agency has concluded a programme to install Event Duration Monitors on the vast majority of storm overflows, just over 80% of the overflows in England by the end of 2020. These monitors provide a robust and consistent way of monitoring how often and for how long storm overflows are used, but do not measures volume. This underpins the Environment Agency planning, compliance and enforcement work. By the end of 2023, the remaining number will be monitored to provide a complete picture of permitted storm overflows in England.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to expedite the transition from culling badgers to vaccinating cattle to reduce the spread of bovine TB; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure an evidence-based and scientifically-reliable approach to counteract the risk posed to cattle by bovine TB.

Jo Churchill: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Ealing Central and Acton on 28 October 2021, PQ UIN 62790. As set out in the Government’s strategy for achieving Officially Bovine Tuberculosis Free status for England[1], the Government continues to develop approaches to deliver the Strategy based on the best available evidence, scientific advice and veterinary advice. The term ‘evidence’ encompasses material from multi-disciplinary science research, statistics, economics, social or operational research and geographical information. [1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-strategy-for-achieving-officially-bovine-tuberculosis-free-status-for-england

Waste Disposal

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to collect information on the number of bulky household waste collections in England.

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department holds on the charges made by local authorities for bulky household waste collections in England.

Jo Churchill: Defra does not collect information on the charges made by local authorities for bulky household waste collections in England. However, Defra collects data on the tonnages of bulky residual waste collected by each reporting authority. This information is published as part of Local Authority waste management statistics, available here: WasteDataFlow - Local Authority waste management on data.gov.uk

Chemicals: Regulation

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact on UK industry of increased divergence between EU and UK chemicals regulation.

Jo Churchill: The UK is committed to a modern and effective system for the regulation of chemicals, based on the best scientific advice, that effectively protects both people and our environment. We will continue to engage closely with industry and monitor impacts on businesses and supply chains.

Incinerators: Northwich

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the role of the Northwich Incinerator in the context of technological changes that mean a greater range of waste that can be recycled; and whether his Department plans to take steps to ensure that recyclable waste is recycled.

Jo Churchill: The Environment Agency will regulate the incinerator installation through an Environmental Permit, under Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 (EPR). The permit will specify limits for emissions to the environment which are based on the Industrial Emission Directive 2010 and the Waste Incineration Best Available Technique conclusions. The waste types that any incinerator can process are specified by its EPR permit. Since 2011, businesses that produce and handle waste must follow the Waste Hierarchy set out in Article 4 of the revised Waste Framework (Directive 2008/98/EC). The incinerator will be required to carry out checks on receipt of the waste to verify the description and ensure that it is an acceptable waste code for the plant to receive. The incinerator plant may extract energy from the waste to supply electricity to the National Grid.

Export Health Certificates

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many complaints his Department has received on lost or delayed Export Health Certificates since 1 January 2021; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Prentis: Defra and APHA do not have a record of complaints specifically on lost or delayed Export Health Certificates (EHCs). If an EHC is lost, delayed or incorrect a certifier or exporter may apply to cancel the existing EHC and have it replaced. Between January 2021 to October 2021, 79 requests for cancel and replace certificates for EU exports were received.

Fly-tipping

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the level of fly tipping in England, by local authority area.

Jo Churchill: Defra publish fly-tipping statistics for England annually. A detailed breakdown of the incidents reported by local authorities is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england Data from 2020/21 is in the final stages of quality assurance and will be published in early December.

Dogs: Animal Breeding and Imports

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to tackle unlicensed puppy farming and illegal puppy imports; if he will take steps to encourage other countries to take action to deter such trade; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Prentis: Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the licence requirements for animal related activities such as pet selling or dog breeding. They therefore hold details of the enforcement activity being undertaken in their area, including information relating to low-welfare and illegal breeding activity. This Government takes the issue of low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies very seriously. Significant steps have already been taken to improve and update the laws on dog breeding in England to crack down on unscrupulous breeders who breed dogs purely for financial greed at the expense of animal welfare. Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 Regulations) anyone in the business of breeding and selling dogs and/or who breeds three or more litters in a twelve-month period needs to have a valid licence from their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards, including provisions to protect dogs from being bred from too often or at an early age, which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences. Any licensee advertising dogs for sale will need to include their licence number in the advert and specify the local authority who issued the licence. Additional requirements placed on advertisements include that the age of the dog for sale must be displayed along with a recognisable photograph. We banned the commercial third-party sales of puppies and kittens in England from 6 April 2020. This ban aims to disrupt the low-welfare trade that supports puppy farming by preventing pet shops, pet dealers and other commercial outlets from selling these animals in England unless they themselves have bred them. It means anyone looking to get a puppy must buy direct from a breeder or consider adopting from a rescue centre instead. Meanwhile my Department maintains a national communications campaign (Petfished) to raise awareness of issues associated with low-welfare and illegal supply of pets. This includes providing clear signposting to where responsible breeders and rehoming centres can be found and encouraging prospective buyers to research the seller thoroughly before they visit and decide to purchase. The campaign provides a list of red flags for buyers to look out for when searching for a pet online. More information can be found here: https://getyourpetsafely.campaign.gov.uk. We have also endorsed The Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG), which was created to combat growing concerns about the irresponsible advertising of pets for sale, rehoming and exchange, and backed a set of minimum standards that PAAG developed, which several of the UK’s largest classified websites have agreed to meet. The Government has a manifesto commitment to crack down on puppy smuggling. It is an abhorrent trade which causes suffering to animals and puts the health of pets and people in the United Kingdom at risk. The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was introduced in Parliament on 8 June with second reading on 25 October. The Bill allows us to deliver this manifesto commitment and protect the welfare of pets by introducing restrictions to crack down on the low welfare movements of pets into Great Britain and includes powers to introduce new restrictions on pet travel and the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation. In August 2021, the Government launched an eight-week consultation on our proposed restrictions to the commercial and non-commercial movement of pets into Great Britain. This included proposals to ban the commercial and non-commercial movement into Great Britain of puppies under the age of six months, heavily pregnant dogs and dogs which have been subjected to low welfare practices such as ear cropping or tail docking. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation and will publish a summary response in due course. This will allow us to take onboard the views of the public and interested groups on puppy smuggling and low welfare imports in order to shape our future policy. Defra is committed to working constructively with our counterparts internationally to safeguard the welfare of these animals and protect the biosecurity of our country. We have made clear our intention to improve the situation for animals wherever they are and making a statement at this time would reveal no additional information.

Food

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to enshrine a right to food in law.

Victoria Prentis: No such formal assessment has been made but since 1976, the United Kingdom has recognised the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 11 notes “the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food”, and seeks “to improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources”; and “taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.” The Covenant is not incorporated into domestic law, as the Covenant does not require States to do so and the Government considers that its method of implementation of the Covenant fulfils the UK’s obligations under Article 2(1). The UK is also committed to delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals, including on ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture and on ending poverty in all its forms everywhere. This Government is wholly committed to supporting people on lower incomes through a range of measures, including by spending over £110 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22. We recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41 million for the Scottish Government, £25 million for the Welsh Government and £14 million for the Northern Ireland Executive), for a total of £500 million.

Fertilisers: Prices

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of the rise in fertiliser prices on UK farms; and what steps his Department is taking to help support farms in finding options for reducing bought-in fertiliser.

Victoria Prentis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury on 28 October 2021, PQ UIN 62654.

Tree Planting

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what calculation his Department has made of the number of trees that will need to be planted each year to meet the Government's target of planting 30 million trees per year by 2025.

Rebecca Pow: The Government has committed to bring tree planting rates across the UK up to 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this Parliament. This is consistent with the Balanced Net Zero Pathway recommended by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) in its advice to the Government on setting the Sixth Carbon Budget.In the financial year 2019/20 (the beginning of this Parliament), 2,300ha of new woodland was created in England. We expect by May 2024 to reach at least 7,000ha of woodland creation per year in England as part of our contribution to the UK-wide efforts.We will also consider consulting on introducing a long-term statutory tree target through the new powers of the Environment Act.

Tree Planting: Northern Ireland

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to enable the Woodland Trust to send trees to Northern Ireland to allow local groups to fully participate in The Queen’s Green Canopy to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

Rebecca Pow: The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”. The QGC is encouraging schools and communities to get involved in planting Jubilee trees, with free tree packs available in Scotland, Wales and England through the Woodland Trust. In Northern Ireland, free tree packs for schools and communities are available through the Conservation Volunteers.

Ferric Sulphate

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of ferric sulphate available in the UK as of 9 November 2021.

Rebecca Pow: There is no shortage of chemicals required for wastewater treatment, and production levels remain normal.

Hunting

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the frequency of public land being used for illegal fox hunting under the guise of trail hunting; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure the effective enforcement of the prohibition on fox-hunting on public land.

Rebecca Pow: The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act.Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law. As enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police, Defra has not assessed the frequency of offences against the Hunting Act committed on public land.

Ferric Sulphate

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of the availability of ferric sulphate supplies on levels of untreated sewage being discharged into rivers.

Rebecca Pow: There is no shortage of ferric sulphate or any other chemical required for wastewater treatment.

Flood Control: Northwich

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what checks are in place to prevent flooding in Northwich town centre during winter 2021-22.

Rebecca Pow: Following October 2019 flooding and Storm Christoph in January 2021, flood risk authorities across Cheshire including the Environment Agency (EA), Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWCC) and United Utilities committed to reducing flood risk in Northwich. The three organisations have been working together to address recommendations from the October 2019 Section 19 report published by CWCC to make the community in Northwich more resilient to future storm events. The partnership prepared a joint emergency plan covering pre-flood and emergency response checks so that efforts are even more coordinated than for previous events. Pumping contingencies put in place following the October 2019 flooding are being enhanced to cope with a Storm Christoph sized event, and funding has been committed from all organisations in this partnership to develop these and other winter readiness measures. The partnership aims to look at longer term solutions to address flood risk in Northwich using a coordinated and strategic approach to take account of the future impacts of climate change and develop more sustainable solutions going forward. The EA re-checked all of the outfalls to the river in the town centre to ensure non-return valves are fitted and are working as they should. The EA conducted pre-winter testing of the demountable flood barrier defences in Northwich on 7 November 2021 and confirmed they are functioning correctly and that the road closures and operational procedures all go smoothly when called upon.

Poaching: Sentencing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce harsher sentencing for poachers.

Rebecca Pow: This Government takes wildlife crime, including poaching, seriously and is committed to ensuring the protection wildlife legislation offers is effectively enforced. We also recognise the issues and distress that poaching can cause for rural communities. Crimes such as deer poaching and hare coursing are completely unacceptable. Significant sanctions are already available to judges to hand down to those convicted of wildlife crime. A person guilty of a poaching offence under the Deer Act for example can receive a fine of up to £2,500 and / or up to three months in prison.The Government has no current plans to introduce harsher sentences for poaching in general. However, our Action Plan for Animal Welfare, published in May this year, sets out our commitment to crack down on illegal hare coursing-related activity, providing law enforcement with more tools to address the issue effectively, including through legislation when Parliamentary time allows.

Home Office

National Crime Agency: Finance

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the budget was for the National Crime Agency's Financial Intelligence Unit in each of the last five years.

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff there were in the National Crime Agency's Financial Intelligence Unit in each of the last five years.

Damian Hinds: Budget: The UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) is part of the NCA called the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC). Overall annual expenditure for the NECC is available in the NCA’s Annual Reports for the past three years (since it has been formed).2018/19 - Gross expenditure for the Prosperity Command - £22.0m (Note the NECC was formally launched on 31 October 2018, before which the NCA’s Prosperity Command fulfilled some of the same functions. In the 2019/20 Annual Report, an apportionment of £6.7m in 2018/19 was made for the NECC.)2019/20 - Gross expenditure for the NECC - £30.0m2020/21 – Gross expenditure for the NECC - £35.5mNumber of UKFIU staff:The most recent information on the number of staff within the UKFIU can be found in the Economic Crime Plan Statement of Progress available here: Economic crime plan 2019 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Counter-terrorism: UK Relations with EU

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of the UK's departure from the EU on her Department’s counterterrorism powers.

Damian Hinds: The safety and security of our citizens is the Government’s top priority. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement delivers a comprehensive package of capabilities that ensures we can work with counterparts across Europe to tackle serious crime and terrorism– protecting the public and bringing criminals to justice.We are fully committed to working together with European partners, including the EU, to counter the threats we all face, within Europe and beyond.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department has provided to (a) local authorities in London, (b) The Mayor of London and (c) voluntary organisations in London to support their work in supporting refugees from Afghanistan.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office have provided a funding offer to support all local authorities who have bridging accommodation in their areas. For example, to provide enrolment in schools, integration into the community, handling of donations and registering with GPs.Frequent and regular engagement is continuing between Home Office officials and Local Authorities with bridging hotels.The Home Office worked closely with Voluntary Sectors Communities Emergency Partnership to provide crisis support in the first few weeks supporting Afghans just arriving into the UK and settling into local communities.We are grateful for the continued support of Local Authorities, voluntary organisations and all those involved in the joint efforts as we work in partnership to fulfil our moral duty to those who have fled Afghanistan, many of whom have stood shoulder to shoulder with our armed forces and now seek a new life in the UK but ask local authorities who are able to consider what additional support they can provide so that all evacuated Afghans can be resettled.

Police: Ipswich

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Police funding for England and Wales 2015 to 2022; Police Force Area Population Statistics for England & Wales, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of disparities in funding per resident for police forces on levels of policing in urban Ipswich.

Kit Malthouse: It has been clear for some time that the current police funding formula is out of date and no longer accurately reflects demand on policing. A new review of the funding formula is now underway and will rightly consider all aspects of the formula, including an evidence-based assessment of drivers of the risk of crime and demand on policing, and issues that affect costs at a local level.Reviewing the funding formula will ensure a fairer distribution of the circa £8 billion of annual core grant funding to the 43 police forces in England and Wales. I have previously confirmed the Government’s intention to complete this work before the next General Election.

Road Traffic Offences: Disclosure of Information

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to enable members of the public to submit dashcam footage of moving vehicle offences to the police.

Kit Malthouse: Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for the police to determine in conjunction with local policing plans.The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) issued national guidance on minimum standards for managing Dashcam submissions in June 2021. The Government will continue to work with them, including through the Roads Policing Review, in developing the support for members of the public submitting dashcam type evidence to policing.

Drugs: Organised Crime

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the national county lines operation reported by the National Police Chiefs Council on 21 October 2021, how many people have been charged with criminal offences in respect of the act of cuckooing; and of those charged, how many charges have been brought under section (a) one and (b) two the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Kit Malthouse: As a part of our County Lines programme we are supporting the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) which has been established to strengthen the law enforcement response and enable police forces to work together to tackle this complex issue.The NCLCC regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. As reported by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), the most recent of these took place between 11-17 October and resulted in more than 1,400 arrests, nearly £2m worth of class A drugs, over £1m in cash and nearly 300 weapons seized, more than 2,600 vulnerable people safeguarded, and 894 cuckooed addresses visited.The NPCC do not report on charges for the week of intensification. However, the NCLCC have identified all national law enforcement initiatives in relation to ‘cuckooing’ and are sharing best practice. Examples include working with local authorities and housing associations to disrupt this malicious crime and signpost vulnerable victims to support.

National Vehicle Crime Working Group

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the most recent meeting of the National Vehicle Crime Working Group took place.

Kit Malthouse: The most recent meeting of the National Vehicle Crime Working Group took place on 20 September 2021. The Working Group is chaired by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, ACC Jenny Sims.

Catalytic Converters: Theft

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the trend in the number of catalytic converter thefts in London in the last three years.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provisions of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 in decreasing theft of catalytic converters.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Metropolitan Police on the theft of catalytic converters.

Kit Malthouse: The Government is committed to tackling the theft of catalytic converters, working closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, established by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime and overseen by the Government’s Crime and Justice Taskforce, to determine what more can be done. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is represented on the Working Group, and discussions between the Home Office and MPS are ongoing about local policing operations.In December 2017, the Home Office published a review of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013. The review took into account views from a range of interested parties and found the measures in the 2013 Act had been effective in addressing metal theft and should be retained. A copy of the review is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-scrap-metal-dealers-act-2013.Enforcement of the 2013 Act is key to tackling this crime. The Government funded the set-up of the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership (NICRP), which ensures national co-ordination of policing and law enforcement partners to tackle metal theft, including the theft of catalytic converters. The partnership has provided training to law enforcement and other partner agencies, shares intelligence to target offenders, and implements crime prevention measures. The British Transport Police, through the NICRP, has conducted two national weeks of actions, which resulted in 64 arrests, over 1,400 stopped vehicles and over 1,000 catalytic converters and other items of stolen property were recovered.

Children: Exploitation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of encouraging youth work as a mechanism to help reduce the risk of child exploitation.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on funding for youth services to prevent child exploitation.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the provision of youth services for girls and young women and the impact of those services on the creation of safe spaces for girls and young women at risk of exploitation.

Rachel Maclean: Child exploitation has a devastating impact on victims, families and the wider community, and this government is committed to tackling it. My officials engage regularly with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and we work together to ensure young people – including those at risk of exploitation - can access youth services.In addition, the Home Office funds a range of targeted activity which seeks to support young people at risk of, or involved in, exploitation. This includes:£35.5m for Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) which bring together local partners to tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area. Where exploitation is identified as a local concern, VRUs deliver a range of interventions, including detached youth work and targeted mentoring schemes, to those most at risk.£200m over 10 years through the Youth Endowment Fund to test what works in preventing young people becoming involved in violence. The Fund evaluates a range of activity, including some youth work programmes, to identify the best-evidenced interventions.£20m for new early intervention programmes that will help stop young people from being drawn into violence, including cognitive behavioural therapy, family therapy, as well as specialist support in crisis moments such as when a person is admitted to A&E with a knife injury.£13.2m over four years for the Trusted Relationships Fund, which is testing innovative approaches to tackling vulnerability among young people at risk of exploitation. The Fund aims to build resilience to harm through fostering healthy, trusting relationships with responsible adults, using a variety of methods, including one to one support, community group work and detached youth work.£1m of specialist support to under 25s from London, the West Midlands and Merseyside who are criminally exploited through county lines, to help them safely reduce and exit their involvement.We are also working specifically with young women and girls through our £435k Young People’s Advocate fund, which provides one-to-one support to young women and girls at risk of or experiencing all forms of exploitation by gangs. More widely, the Home Office are providing £43m this financial year to tackle violence against women and girls, including through frontline support with young victims.

Personation: Compensation

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support victims of fraud by false representation seeking redress for damages, particularly in fraudulent land transactions.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support serious fraud investigation units in England particularly in relation to fraudulent property transactions.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to crack down on fraud by false representation particularly in relation to fraudulent property transactions.

Damian Hinds: The Government is boosting police capacity and is committed to strengthening our criminal justice system to put victims first. As part of the Police Uplift Programme to recruit an additional 20,000 officers by 2023, we have prioritised more investigators in the City of London Police to fulfil their role as a world class fraud specialist force. We have also channelled additional officer resource into the Regional Organised Crime Unit network to work on a host of serious and organised crime threats including fraud.The Government is also aware of the harms caused by identity theft and that criminals use this to commit and enable a range of offences, from benefit fraud, credit card fraud to fraudulently obtaining property.We are actively working on a number of initiatives to reduce identity-enabled crime and deny criminals the opportunity to exploit false or stolen personal data. This includes developing proposals for a digital identity system that would enable people to prove their identity easily and securely, without the need to provide physical documents, with the aim of reducing identity-enabled fraud and crime. However, the Government recognises there is more to do, and we are working closely with industry, regulators, and consumer groups to tackle fraud and close those vulnerabilities that criminals too easily exploit.Reporting incidents of fraud helps us stop fraudsters and protect other people from becoming victims. Any experience of property fraud should be reported directly to HM Land Registry through their dedicated Property Fraud Line at reportafraud@landregistry.gov.uk. Owners who are concerned their property might be subject to a fraudulent sale or mortgage should also register an Anti-Fraud Restriction with HM Land Registry. We also continue to ask the public to report fraud to the police through Action Fraud by phone on 0300 123 2040 or through their website: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud.It is important that victims of fraud receive the support that they are entitled to. Action Fraud also provides protective advice to individuals who contact the service and Citizens Advice can provide options for redress.

Asylum: Standards

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle delays to (a) interviews and (b) asylum decisions for asylum seekers processed by her Department.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office is pursuing a wide range of programmes which will transform our systems and processes alongside a number of business improvement initiatives to speed up decision making, reduce the time people spend in the system and reduce the numbers who are awaiting an interview where required or a decision.Additionally to transformation, in response to the raising number of asylum claims and delays, we are working to increase decision makers as well as providing improved training and career progression opportunities to aid retention of staff. This investment in our people will speed up processing times and increase the throughput of asylum decisions.

Passports

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of passports applied for under the 1 Week Fast Track scheme were delivered within one week in each of the 12 months to 31 October 2021.

Kevin Foster: There is no integration of the system used for passport application processing and the one used by third-party suppliers for delivery services. This means whilst Her Majesty’s Passport Office is able to monitor performance on a case-by-case basis for customer service purposes, there is no accurate measure of whole service performance to the point of delivery. Under the terms of the Fast Track service, passports will be delivered on or before the seventh day following an appointment before 12.30pm, or the eighth day for appointments after this time. Passports printed under the Fast Track service are delivered to customers the following day through a 24-hour service level. The data attached shows the volume of passports printed under the Fast Track service within 144 hours (six days) of the application being submitted. Due to COVID-19, the Fast Track service was suspended until April 2021, with exceptions primarily on compassionate grounds. volume of passports printed under the Fast Track s (png, 14.0KB)

British Nationality: Fees and Charges

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing the non-administrative costs of British citizenship application fees.

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of eligible applicants in (a) Wales and (b) the rest of the UK who cannot make an application for British citizenship as a result of being unable to pay the non-administrative costs.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office publishes data on citizenship applications and grants atImmigration statistics data tables, year ending June 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).An incomplete payment is just one of a number of reasons which could lead to an application being rejected and included under the ‘rejected applications’ heading in Table 4.The Home Office does not have accessible management information on applications rejected in Wales specifically, as a result of being unable to pay the non-administrative costs of citizenship fees.Fees are regularly reviewed and set within the parameters agreed by Parliament in section 68 of the Immigration Act 2014.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing: Construction

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding his Department has allocated for the purposes of delivering new homes in (a) Coventry North East Constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years.

Christopher Pincher: Information on total spend on housing and planning is available on the gov.uk website. Further details on country and regional spend can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-and-regional-analysis.This Government is committed to delivering homes where they are most needed. We’ve delivered over 1.8 million new homes between 2010 and 2020. From April 2019 to March 2020 around 244,000 homes were delivered – the highest level for over 30 years and the seventh consecutive year that net supply has increased.We are continuing to drive up the supply of new homes by diversifying the market; investing in affordable housing; and increasing land supply for new homes by investing in infrastructure.We have announced £10 billion investment in housing supply since the start of this Parliament, with our housing supply interventions due to unlock over 1 million new homes. This includes an additional £1.8 billion investment announced at Spending Review 2021, consisting of £300 million locally led grant funding that will be distributed to MCAs and Local Authorities to help deliver their housing priorities and £1.5 billion to regenerate underused land and deliver transport links and community facilities, unlocking up to 160,000 homes in total.Over the last ten years, approximately £157 million has been spent to support the delivery of new homes in Coventry, while over £2.4 billion has been spent in the West Midlands over the same period.

Housing: Hertsmere

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has received any written representations from Hertsmere Borough Council on the requirement that the Council use 2014 ONS data, rather than 2017 ONS data, for calculating housing need using his Department’s standard method.

Christopher Pincher: My Department has not received any correspondence directly from Hertsmere Borough Council in relation to the use of 2014 household projections within the Council’s calculation of their housing need.

Community Ownership Fund: Northern Ireland

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase awareness of the Community Ownership Fund in Northern Ireland.

Neil O'Brien: The first bidding round of the Community Ownership Fund has now closed and the successful bids have been announced. We are reviewing applications and uptake across the United Kingdom in each nation as part of our first round review and will consider how to increase awareness in the next round.Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities officials worked closely with officials at the Northern Ireland Executive, the Northern Ireland Office and the Cities and Local Growth Unit Northern Ireland Area team during the first bidding round to ensure that communities were aware of the fund. They will continue to do this in future rounds.

UK Community Renewal Fund: Sefton Council

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has received an application from Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council to the UK Community Renewal Fund.

Neil O'Brien: The lead authority, in this case Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA), was responsible for submitting bids to the UK Community Renewal Fund. LCRCA invited bids from a range of project applicants, appraised and prioritised projects and submitted a shortlist to UK Government which selected projects based on the published assessment criteria.   We have checked and no bids were submitted for the UK Community Renewal Fund from Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council by LCRCA.

Buildings: Fire Prevention

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the independent export group's report entitled Independent expert statement in building safety in medium and lower-rise blocks of flats, published on 12 July 2021, when his Department will change the Government's fire safety advice for residential buildings under 18 metres in height in line with the recommendations of that report.

Christopher Pincher: Following the July Independent Expert Statement on Building Safety in medium and lower rise blocks of flats, the Government strongly supports the expert group's position that EWS1 forms should not be required on buildings under 18 metres. New guidance for the risk assessment of external wall systems will soon be introduced. The PAS9980 will ensure that fire risk assessments are consistent, proportionate to risk and actions to manage risk are cost-effective, and the Consolidated Advice Note will shortly be withdrawn. The combination of these changes and the commencement of the Fire Safety Act, and associated Fire Safety Order, will create a clear new proportionate and risk appropriate system for assessment.

Buildings: Insulation

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors’ guidance on EWS1 guidance on buildings below 18 metres in height, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of that guidance on the housing market.

Christopher Pincher: Government continues to challenge industry on the use of the EWS1 process, as well as pressing for more data so that we can get a sense of how the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) guidance is being applied, and the impact of the process on mortgage applications. The first tranche of EWS1 data will be published shortly. The Department intends to withdraw the Consolidated Advice Note by the end of the year. Following this, RICS will update their guidance accordingly.

General Elections: Voting Rights

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the open letter from the Association of Electoral Administrators and Society of Local Authority of Chief Executives, what steps his Department plans to take to help ensure that the proposed shortening of the UK general election timetable will not lead to voter disenfranchisement.

Kemi Badenoch: There are no provisions in the Elections Bill or in the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill on this matter.

Councillors: Political Parties

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance or advice his Department has provided to local authorities on whether councillors who have been suspended by a national political party should be considered to remain members of that party’s political group on a local authority for the purposes of allocating seats on committees.

Kemi Badenoch: The allocation of committee seats should be reviewed by a local authority annually, or upon request following a by-election or where a councillor joins a new political group. It is for the political groups on a local authority to determine their own membership as they see fit.

Wholesale Trade: Government Assistance

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of including wholesalers in the forthcoming Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund guidance for the wellbeing of that sector.

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of specifically referencing the wholesale sector in the forthcoming guidance for the £1.5 billion business rates relief fund announced for businesses outside of the retail, hospitality and leisure sector on 25 March 2021.

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure wholesalers have access to the forthcoming Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund.

Kemi Badenoch: My Department will publish guidance for the Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund to help local authorities set up their local schemes, once the legislation relating to MCC provisions has passed. This will set out the relevant eligibility criteria alongside funding allocations. Business rates are devolved so the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive an additional £285 million through the Barnett formula and will be able to determine the parameters of their own schemes.

Conditions of Employment and Pay: Scotland

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will offer support to (a) Glasgow city council, (b) the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and (c) the Scottish Government to reach an agreement with trade unions on pay and conditions.

Kemi Badenoch: This is a devolved matter for the Scottish Government to consider.

Council Tax

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to protect residents from excessive increases in council tax payments.

Kemi Badenoch: Council tax levels are set by local authorities, although the Secretary of State determines referendum principles to ensure that residents can have the final say over excessive increases. The provisional local government finance settlement will set out full details of the proposed referendum principles for 2022-23. The settlement and referendum principles will be subject to agreement by Parliament in the usual way. Local authorities maintain locally designed council tax support schemes to help people facing financial difficulty.

National Insurance

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to mitigate the effect on local authority's finances of the 1.25 per cent rise in National Insurance.

Kemi Badenoch: I refer the Honourable Member to my answer to Question UIN 69093 on 8 November 2021.

Non-domestic Rates: Appeals

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to support businesses seeking to appeal business rates valuations after changes in circumstances during the covid-19 pandemic.

Kemi Badenoch: The Government has announced an additional £1.5 billion business rates relief fund to support those businesses affected by the pandemic that have not otherwise been eligible for existing reliefs. My Department will publish guidance to help local authorities set up their local schemes once the legislation relating to COVID-19 Material Change of Circumstances provisions has passed.

Antisemitism

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the increase in hate crimes committed against people of the Jewish faith.

Kemi Badenoch: Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we are taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms. We are clear that victims should be supported and the individuals who carry out these heinous attacks must be brought to justice. The Government is providing £14 million this year for the Protective Security Grant to protect Jewish schools and community buildings and we have encouraged the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism across universities and local authorities.

Tree Houses: Construction

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including the construction of low-level tree houses within permitted development rights.

Christopher Pincher: In determining whether planning permission would be required for a particular treehouse the first consideration for the local planning authority would be to determine whether it constituted ‘development’ as defined under the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act. If the proposed treehouse did not constitute such development, no planning permission would be required.The householder permitted development rights enable homeowners to extend their homes and erect outbuildings without the need to apply for specific planning permission. To protect the privacy of neighbours the rights do not enable the construction of verandas, balconies or raised platforms over 0.3 metres without planning permission.

Private Rented Housing: Coronavirus

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on the buy-to-let sector.

Christopher Pincher: Mortgage arrears continued to fall to near historic lows from July to September 2021, with government support for household incomes through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) remaining in place until the end of September as well as mortgage payment holidays. According to publicly available information from UK Finance, which represents over 300 firms across the banking and finance industry, there were a total of 5,670 buy-to-let mortgages in arrears of 2.5 per cent or more of the outstanding balance from July to September 2021. This is a decrease of six per cent compared with April to June of the same year. In terms of possessions, 320 buy-to-let mortgaged properties were taken into possession from July to September 2021, which is significantly down on the same period in 2019 prior to the pandemic when 800 mortgage possessions took place.

Private Rented Housing: Costs

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the average cost is of a buy-to-let property in each region of the UK.

Christopher Pincher: The department does not hold data on the average cost of buy-to-let properties in each region of the UK.The English Private Landlord Survey 2018 included data on the average market value per rental property. The mean average market value per rental property was £261,885.

Private Rented Housing

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many buy-to-let properties there are in the UK.

Christopher Pincher: 55% of landlords in England have a Buy-to-Let mortgage, as detailed in the English Private Landlord Survey 2018. This data can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-private-landlord-survey-2018-main-report.

Public Lavatories: Disability

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of Changing Places toilets in local communities; and what steps he is taking to ensure adequate provision.

Eddie Hughes: Where people shop, go out, or travel should not be determined by their disability. As society starts to open up again as we recover from the pandemic, it's crucial that our built environment allows everyone to enjoy the benefits of lockdown easing.  Changing Places toilets are a vital facility for people who cannot use standard accessible toilets and for their family and carers. It is estimated that there are currently only around 1200 Changing Places toilets in England.In January this year, my Department amended Building Regulations' statutory guidance to provide a 12m2 Changing Places Toilet in certain types of new, large public buildings, such as places such as art galleries, cinemas, concert halls, museums, theatres, places of worship and motorway service areas, plus larger retail facilities, shopping malls, sport and leisure buildings, and in hospitals, primary care, crematoria and cemetery buildings.To accelerate the provision of these facilities, my Department is also making up to £30 million available to local authorities in England. The funding will boost the number of Changing Places Toilets in existing buildings. Local authorities were invited to lodge an expression of interest by 26 September 2021 and successful applications should expect to receive initial grant funding later this year, subject to ministerial approval.

Regional Planning and Development: North of England

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made for the implications of his policy of the IPPR's report entitled, Time to act: Understanding the impact of Covid-19 on disabled people in the north of England, published 3 September 2021 on levelling up to address inequalities.

Eddie Hughes: Since the start of this pandemic, this Government has worked hard to ensure disabled people have access to employment support, disability benefits, financial support, food, medicines, as well as accessible communications and guidance during the COVID-19 outbreak.As we recover from the pandemic, we are committed to taking action to create a society that works for everyone so we can build back better, and fairer, levelling up opportunities for disabled people. That is why the Government published the National Disabled Strategy on 28 July, ensuring we improve disabled people's everyday lives across jobs, housing, transport, education, shopping, culture, justice, public services, and data and evidence.We are also making a systemic change in the way we tackle regional inequalities to ensure no one is left behind. The forthcoming Levelling Up White Paper will build on existing action across Government to drive change for years to come in every part of the UK.We are already taking action to improve public services, particularly where they are weakest, including health and education services:We have announced a £2.6 billion over the Spending Review period for school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities, more than tripling current capital funding levels to over £900 million by 2024-25.We are improving access to critical diagnostic services across the country whilst targeting investment at areas of deprivation, by investing £2.3 billion over the Spending Review period to increase the number of Community Diagnostic Centres, including building 8 in the North East and Yorkshire and 5 in the North West.As part of the Plan for Jobs, we are continuing funding worth £339 million per year for existing disability employment programmes such as the Access to Work scheme and the Work and Health programme.We are also providing an additional £156 million over the Spending Review period to provide job finding support for disabled people, with a focus on additional work coaches.

Sleeping Rough

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in the context of the Government’s commitment to end rough sleeping by 2024, what recent progress his Department has made in forming a strategy to meet that commitment.

Eddie Hughes: The Government is fully committed to ending rough sleeping within this Parliament and has already made considerable progress to reduce rough sleeping. Much of this work provided the capacity to deliver Everyone In response during the pandemic both locally and nationally.The Annual Rough Sleeping Snapshot for 2020 showed that there was a 37% decrease in rough sleeping levels from last year.Our work continues to focus on helping people find longer term accommodation, providing multi-disciplinary support as well as supporting those new to the street. The department is working with partners across government and the sector to consider the role of health, justice, immigration, and employment, alongside housing.The Government will be spending £2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next three years, including an 85% increase in resource funding in cash terms in 2024/25 compared to 2019/20.

Evictions

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate has his Department made of the number of section 21 eviction notices been issued in each year since 2019 in (a) London and (b) England.

Eddie Hughes: There is no requirement on landlords to notify the Government when they serve notice of their intention to seek possession to their tenant. As such, the Department does not hold data on the number of Section 21 notices issued.The Government remains firmly committed to the Renters Reform programme, including abolishing section 21 evictions. We will publish a White Paper that sets out government's plans in 2022.

Cabinet Office

Procurement: Coronavirus

Angela Rayner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2021 to Question 57295, on Procurement: Coronavirus, when he plans to publish details of companies that were awarded contracts via the high-priority lane for covid-19 procurement, and who referred those companies to the high-priority lane.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the publication “PPE procurement in the early pandemic” on GOV.UK of 17 November.

Treasury

Business: Payments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that businesses accept cash as a method of payment for goods during the covid-19 outbreak.

John Glen: The FCA has published research on cash acceptance by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which found that the primary motivation for accepting cash is to provide customers with choice. While it remains the individual retailer’s choice as to whether to accept or decline any form of payment, including cash or card, nearly all (98%) of surveyed businesses stated they would never turn away a customer if they needed to pay by cash. Nonetheless, the Government recognises that the ability to transact in cash remains important to millions of people across the UK and has committed to legislating to protect access to cash. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has worked closely with the financial regulators to ensure firms maintain branch access for essential services, while balancing the needs of their customers with the safety and welfare of staff. The vast majority of people have continued to have access to cash during the pandemic. The Government recently consulted on legislative proposals to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals stand to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and to help local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring access to deposit facilities. The Government also made legislative changes to support the widespread offering of cashback without a purchase by shops and other businesses as part of the Financial Services Act 2021. Cashback without a purchase has the potential to play an important role in the UK’s cash infrastructure. The financial services industry is already seeking to take advantage of the changes to the law for the benefit of cash users; working with retailers to roll out new services to local communities.

Banks: Government Assistance

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the revenue raised by the (a) Bank Levy and (b) Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge since their introduction in 2011 relative to state support for the banking sector over the period since the financial crisis in 2008.

John Glen: Since the introduction of the bank levy in 2011, total revenue raised by the (a) Bank Levy and (b) Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge up to an including 2020-21 can be found in the ONS monthly public sector current receipts publication. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/datasets/appendixdpublicsectorcurrentreceipts These taxes were introduced to ensure that banks make a fair and sustainable contribution, reflecting the risks they pose to the financial system and wider economy. Further measures have also been taken to raise revenue from the sector including a restriction on tax relief for banks’ historic losses and PPI compensation payments. As a result of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the Government made a number of interventions in the financial sector with the objective of protecting the financial stability of the UK economy. In each Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) publishes estimates of the net direct effect of these financial sector interventions on the public finances. The latest estimates are set out in Table B.1 of the October 2021 publication: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2021/ The OBR’s estimates do not attempt to compare against a counterfactual scenario where the Government did not intervene. However, as the OBR sets out, the costs of the financial crisis would almost certainly have been much greater in the absence of direct interventions to restore the financial system to stability.

Banks: Insolvency

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment has he made of the (a) current financial risks in the banking sector and (b) likelihood of further state bailouts in the next decade.

John Glen: The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) of the Bank of England is responsible for identifying, monitoring and taking action to remove or reduce systemic risks with a view to protecting and enhancing the resilience of the UK financial system. In September, the FPC judged that the banking sector remains resilient to outcomes for the economy that are much more severe than the Monetary Policy Committee’s central forecast in the August Monetary Policy Report. This judgement is supported by the interim results of the Bank of England’s 2021 solvency stress test. HM Treasury is aware of and participates in FPC discussions through its non-voting membership of the Committee. Since 2008, the UK banking system has been significantly strengthened, and UK banks now hold over three times more capital than they did at the time of the financial crisis. In addition, a resolution regime has also been established which empowers the Bank of England to manage the failure of financial institutions in a way that protects depositors and maintains financial stability, while limiting the risks to public funds. In particular, minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) have been put in place to ensure systemically important banks hold sufficient equity and eligible debt so that they can be ‘bailed in’ should a bank fail.

Debts: Coronavirus

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on the levels of household debt in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

John Glen: The Government regularly monitors trends in household debt levels in order to inform policy making to help people manage their money well and access support if they need to get their finances back on track. It does so by working closely with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and engages regularly with a range of other stakeholders on their research and findings. The FCA conducts a biennial Financial Lives Survey of 16,000 adults which provides a comprehensive insight into the finances of the UK population. The latest findings from the survey were published in February 2021 and showed that between March and October 2020, the number of people with low financial resilience increased by 3.5 million, from 10.7 million to 14.2 million. MaPS monitors financial difficulty through the Debt Need Survey of approximately 22,000 people, with data on regional levels of over-indebtedness last published in 2018. MaPS will publish the results of the 2021 Debt Need Survey early next year, which will include a regional breakdown of their new Need for Debt Advice measure.

Revenue and Customs

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) annual budget and (b) number of staff was for HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service in each of the last five years.

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) annual budget and (b) number of staff was for HMRC's Proceeds of Crime Unit in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: HMRC is determined that tax fraud should not pay. Since the launch of our Fraud Investigation Service in 2015-16, we have secured and protected nearly £30 billion for our vital public services and secured more than 3,800 criminal convictions. In addition, HMRC’s Spending Review settlement includes £100 million for more resources for HMRC to tackle all forms of non-compliance, including avoidance and evasion, and continued funding of over £70 million for the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce to combat fraud and abuse of the Covid-19 schemes. The tables below detail the full-time equivalent staffing levels in both Fraud Investigation Service (1) and the Proceeds of Crime unit (2).  1. HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service 2017-182018-192019-202020-212021-22 *a) Annual Budget (approx.)- includes Pay-bill, Other Resource Costs, Income & Capital.£240m£260m£300m£300m£300mb) Full-time equivalent staff at the end of the year (approx.)4,1004,4004,9004,4004,900*2021-22 staff number is a year-end projection  2. HMRC's Proceeds of Crime Unit (HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service hosts this function)  a) The annual budget for this function has not been provided as it forms a part of the wider budget allocation for the Fraud Investigation Service. 2017-182018-192019-202020-212021-22 *b) Full-time equivalent staff at the end of the year (approx.)400350400350400*2021-22 staff number is a year-end projection

Defibrillators: VAT

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce VAT on community defibrillators and the cabinets in which they are housed to match the VAT free status of the pads and batteries.

Lucy Frazer: The Government already maintains VAT reliefs to aid the purchase of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), including VAT relief on purchases made by local authorities and those made through voluntary contributions, where the AED is donated to eligible charities or the NHS. Otherwise, they attract the standard rate of VAT. Any new VAT relief would come at a cost to the Exchequer and the Government has received over £50 billion worth of requests for relief from VAT since the EU referendum. The Government however keeps all taxes under constant review.

National Insurance

Catherine West: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department made, prior to the decision being made, of the potential effect of the rise in Employer National Insurance Contributions from April 2022 on (a) employment rates and (b) wages.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has made a number of assessments of the impact of the introduction of the Health and Social Care Levy, which were published alongside the announcement. These include the distributional analysis of the impact of the combined tax and spending announcements, a technical annex in our plan for health and social care, and a Tax Information and Impact Note. Further, the Office for Budget Responsibility set out their assessment of the economic effects of the Levy, including the impact on labour supply and wages, in their latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2021/

UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Stephen Farry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact on the economy of a potential partial suspension of the Trade and Co-operation Agreement by the EU in the event that the Government triggers Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Lucy Frazer: The Government remains in intensive discussions with the EU with the aim of delivering significant changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol, as set out in the Command Paper published in July. Our preference is to find a consensual solution that deals with the problems which exist. However, it is the responsibility of the UK Government to safeguard peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland, and if solutions cannot be found this could include using Article 16. The safeguards in Article 16 are designed to ease acute problems, not to cause or compound them.

Private Education: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2021 to Question 67285 on Private Education: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and with reference to the detailed sector breakdowns for the education sector, how many private schools claimed support from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to pay staff over the 2021 summer holidays.

Lucy Frazer: The objective of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was to support employers to retain their employees. It was therefore not for the Government to decide whether an individual firm should take its staff off furlough. That was a decision for the employer, in consultation with the employee. HMRC produce monthly Official Statistics on the CJRS. The most granular breakdown they provide for the education sector is split by pre-primary, primary and secondary. but does not cover a breakdown by type of school.

Treasury: Aquind

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on which dates in the last six months each of the Ministers in his Department (a) met and (b) spoke to (i) directors and (ii) other representatives of Aquind Energy.

Helen Whately: Details of HMT Ministers’ official meetings with external organisations can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel.

Non-domestic Rates: Tax Allowances

Matt Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) retail, (b) hospitality and (c) leisure properties will be eligible for the temporary business rates relief as announced in the Autumn Budget 2021.

Lucy Frazer: Guidance setting out eligibility for the 2022-23 retail, hospitality and leisure relief will be published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in due course.

Property: Valuation

Matt Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what rateable value-increasing improvements to existing properties will be eligible for the 100 per cent improvement relief, as announced in the Autumn Budget 2021.

Matt Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plant and machinery used in onsite renewable energy generation and storage will be eligible for the targeted business rate exemptions as announced in the Autumn Budget 2021.

Matt Vickers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what heat networks will be eligible for the 100 per cent business rates relief as announced in the Autumn Budget 2021.

Lucy Frazer: Further details on the eligibility for the improvement relief, heat networks relief, and green plant and machinery exemptions will be set out in a technical consultation later this year.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support will be offered to people who struggle financially when the furlough scheme ends.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was set up to support employers to retain their employees through the Covid-19 pandemic. To date, the scheme has succeeded in supporting 11.7 million jobs across the UK with employer claims totalling £70 billion, aiding businesses, and protecting livelihoods. At the start of this crisis, unemployment was expected to reach 12 per cent by the OBR. They now expect it to peak at less than half that, which means more than 2 million fewer people out of work than previously feared. Now that the scheme has ended, the government is prioritising support for those coming off furlough and onto Universal Credit (UC) by providing immediate referral to the online Job Finding Support (JFS) scheme. Previously furloughed jobseekers on UC will get immediate voluntary access to 1-2-1 advice from a skilled adviser, with support including writing CVs, access to group sessions, a mock interview, understanding digital recruitment processes, presenting transferable skills and applying for jobs in new sectors. The offer will run until the end of December 2021. The government is committed to helping low-income families with the cost of living, including providing £500m for a new Household Support Fund to help vulnerable households with costs for essentials such as good, clothing and utilities over the Winter. The government is also taking decisive action to make work pay by cutting the UC taper rate from 63p to 55p, and increasing UC work allowances by £500 p.a. These measures mean that 1.9m working households will be able to keep substantially more of what they earn, and they effectively represent a tax cut, worth around £2.2 billion a year in 2022-23 for the lowest paid in society.

Non-domestic Rates: Appeals

Helen Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate has he made of the number of businesses at each stage of the business rates appeal process in the latest period for which figures are available; and what estimate has he made of the average waiting time for a business rates appeal to be decided.

Lucy Frazer: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) published official statistics on non-domestic rating challenges and changes, including Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA) figures on 28 October 2021:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-challenges-and-changes-2017-and-2010-rating-lists-september-2021 Table 1.1 shows there were 7,200 Checks and that 63,780 Challenges were outstanding as of 30 September 2021 in England. These figures represent the number of cases, not the number of businesses. Each Check or Challenge could involve more than one business, and a business could have more than one case. The vast majority of outstanding Challenge cases are related to COVID-19 and are on hold pending legislation. The Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill sets out, with retrospective effect, that matters attributable to COVID-19 are not to be taken into account in respect of determinations to alter 2017 rating lists in England. Once this comes into effect, these cases will be closed. The average timeliness of resolving Check and Challenge cases between 1 April 2017 and 30 September 2021 in England, was around two months for Checks, and nine months for Challenges. This figure excludes those COVID-19 related Challenges which are on hold. Clearance of outstanding Challenge cases remains a priority for the VOA. The VOA are prioritising hardship cases and non-COVID Challenge cases approaching 18 months old.

Wholesale Trade: Government Assistance

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of including wholesalers in the forthcoming Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund guidance for the wellbeing of that sector.

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure wholesalers have access to the forthcoming Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund.

Lucy Frazer: Funding for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that have not otherwise been eligible for existing reliefs will be available once the legislation relating to material change in circumstance provisions, the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Bill, has passed and Local Authorities (LAs) have established their own local relief schemes. The Government will support LAs to do this as quickly as possible, including through new burdens funding. Formal guidance will follow in due course, setting out the specific considerations that LAs should have regard for when providing relief. Relief will be for LAs to award on a discretionary basis.

Children: Day Care

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the tax-free childcare scheme, how many (a) active accounts and (b) children eligible there were for that scheme on 31 March in each of the last 5 years.

Mr Simon Clarke: Tax-Free Childcare began to be rolled out from April 2017. The figures for Open and Used accounts for Tax-Free Childcare are published in Official Statistics (latest release November 2021 for figures up to September 2021). The estimated figures for eligible children from 2017-18 onwards, as well as the annual Open and Used account figures can be found in the table below. Number of (000s)Financial Year2017-182018-192019-202020-21Children with Open Accounts314537768901Children with Used Accounts72203396462Eligible Children 1,8001,9001,9001,700

Children: Day Care

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2021 to Question 72406, how many and what proportion of user accounts for the tax-free childcare scheme that have not had their details reconfirmed in the last three months relate to children under the age of 12.

Mr Simon Clarke: There were 125,800 accounts that had reached the end of an eligibility period but had not reconfirmed details between 1st August and 31st October 2021. Of these, 125,300 or over 99% relate to children aged under 12 on 31st October. There can be many reasons why a family might not reconfirm their account in a 3-month period. For example, there may have been changes to their childcare arrangements or their working arrangements which mean they are no longer eligible for TFC or don’t need it. They may still reactivate and use their TFC account in a future period.

Government Departments: Fines

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many fines have been issued by his Department to other Government departments in each year since 2010 for accountancy misconduct; and what the value of each fine was.

Mr Simon Clarke: Government entities are required to produce annual reports and accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Manual, which adapts and interprets UK adopted International Financial Reporting Standards for the UK public sector context and sets out how to account for the use of resources. The annual reports and accounts are independently audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), supported by the National Audit Office (NAO), to offer assurance that the underlying transactions have appropriate parliamentary authority and that the accounts have been properly prepared and are free of material misstatements. The C&AG may qualify his opinion should the findings of the audit suggest that there has not been appropriate parliamentary authority, that the accounts have not been properly prepared or that they are materially misstated. Such matters are drawn to the attention of the Public Accounts Committee which may call the Accounting Officer to account for the findings of the audit. HM Treasury does not issue fines or penalties over the quality of financial reporting as audited by the C&AG.However, as set out in the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance, the budgeting framework allows for The Chief Secretary to consider further remedial action to incentivise good financial management and penalise actions that break certain rules or actions that fall below expectations. This may include asking the NAO to investigate the value for money that the department achieves, conducting a financial management review, reducing delegated authorities, removing access to Budget Exchange and/or making deductions to administration budgets. In all cases, the Treasury retains the right to apply whatever penalties are appropriate to incentivise good financial management and value for money. The Treasury does not hold a central record of the remedial actions that have historically been taken.

Children: Day Care

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) forecast and (b) actual expenditure was for the tax-free childcare scheme in the last five financial years to date.

Mr Simon Clarke: Tax-Free Childcare began to be rolled out from April 2017. Forecasted expenditure from the Autumn Budget 2017 and actual expenditure from the latest Official Statistics publication (November 2021) is shown in the table below for years 2017-18 to 2020-21.  2017-182018-192019-202020-21Autumn Budget 2017 Forecasted Expenditure£0.04bn£0.30bn£0.57bn£0.71bnActual Expenditure£0.03bn£0.12bn£0.24bn£0.24bn

Police and Crime Commissioners: Cleveland

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on which dates in the last six months the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has (a) met and (b) spoken to the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland.

Mr Simon Clarke: Details of HMT Ministers’ official meetings with external organisations are published and can be found on Gov.uk

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Cricket: Racial Discrimination

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of representation of African, Caribbean and Asian coaches, umpires and match officials at all levels of cricket in England and Wales.

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the report by the Cricket Board of England and Wales, Racial equality in cricket, published in 1997, whether his Department has implemented the recommendations set out in that report.

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will provide (a) funding and (b) support to African, Caribbean and Asian cricket associations to tackle exclusion and inequality in all aspects of the game, particularly under representation among umpires, coaches and match officials.

Nigel Huddleston: The national governing body for cricket, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) assesses trends in representation in the sport. This includes the level of representation of African, Caribbean and Asian coaches, umpires and match officials. The Government and Sport England is committed to increasing diversity and inclusion across all sport and physical activity.The ECB developed the African-Caribbean Engagement Programme (ACE) in 2020 to address a 75% decline in cricket participation by members of the Black community in cricket. It has now been established as an independent charity and received £540,000 in funding from Sport England and a grant from the ECB that has allowed a programme to be launched in Birmingham in 2021.The ECB launched its South Asian Action Plan in 2018, also funded by Sport England. This focuses on increasing racial diversity and opening up access to cricket, including facilities and delivery of bespoke formats of the sport for the community’s needs. After the success of the first investment of £1 million, this has recently been awarded an additional £1 million for the next 2 years.The report on ‘Racial equality in cricket’ identified a range of actions for the ECB. Sport England provides support, guidance and funding to help national governing bodies, including the ECB, to help them increase diversity and inclusion in their organisations.There is still more to do, however, and we will continue to liaise with the ECB to ensure this issue is tackled effectively, and that recommendations from the newly established Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, are implemented.

Gambling

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling on those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has of the potential (a) financial and (b) public health impacts of permitting gambling shops to be located in areas of economic disadvantage.

Chris Philp: Public Health England (PHE)’s evidence review of gambling-related harms found that the socio-demographic profile of gamblers appears to change as gambling risk increases, with people who are unemployed and people living in more deprived areas showing higher rates of harmful gambling although they have relatively lower levels of participation.The Gambling Commission requires gambling operators to have completed local risk assessments for each of their gambling premises. This is to ensure that they take into account factors near to their premises, including aspects of economic disadvantage such as addiction treatment centres or homelessness hostels. In accordance with the licensing objectives of the Gambling Act, operators must ensure that they mitigate against these risks.

Gambling

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the level and impact of gambling-related harm (a) nationally and (b) in York.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling on (a) mental health and (b) levels of suicide.

Chris Philp: As set out in Public Health England’s evidence review of gambling-related harms, the problem gambling rate for England was estimated as 0.5% in 2018, and has been relatively stable since 2012. The 2018 Health Survey also showed the problem gambling rate for Yorkshire and the Humber was 0.7%.Public Health England’s (PHE) evidence review of gambling-related harms found that there is a higher prevalence of problem gambling among people with poor health, low life satisfaction and wellbeing scores, and the problem gambling rate is higher among more deprived groups than less deprived groups.It also found an association between harmful gambling, poor mental health and higher levels of alcohol consumption, although most of the published studies were not able to demonstrate the direction of causation.The review examined the association between suicidal behaviours and problem gambling. It estimates 409 deaths a year from suicide associated with problem gambling, based on studies in Sweden. The government does not hold data on how many suicides in the United Kingdom are linked to gambling.

Gambling Act 2005 Review

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to embed a public health approach to gambling in the review of the Gambling Act 2005.

Chris Philp: The Government considers that a public health approach is a key part of gambling regulation. Gambling legislation and the requirements placed on operators by the independent regulator, the Gambling Commission, are intended to offer a wide range of protections: from those which make gambling safer for the population as a whole, such as controls on gambling products, to tailored protections for groups such as children and specific targeted interventions and support for those at most risk of harm.Our Review of the Gambling Act aims to ensure that the protections in place to prevent harm are appropriate and effective for the digital age. Public Health England’s recent evidence review of gambling-related harms is a valuable contribution and we are considering it carefully.

Advertising: Fraud

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what provisions the Government (a) has and (b) plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of taking forward in (i) the Online Safety Bill and (ii) other legislative proposals to tackle scam advertisements.

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will make platforms responsible for fraudulent and scam content hosted on their sites.

Chris Philp: The government is working tirelessly with industry, regulators and consumer groups to tackle fraud. We are also considering additional legislative and non-legislative solutions to effectively address the harms posed by all elements of online fraud in a cohesive and robust way.My Department is considering how online advertising is regulated through its Online Advertising Programme. This work will look at ensuring that standards about the placement and content of advertising are effectively applied and enforced online to reduce consumers’ exposure to harmful or misleading advertising. This work will look at the role advertising can play in enabling online fraud and help inform our future efforts to tackle it. We will be consulting on this issue later this year.Although paid-for advertising is exempt in the current draft of the Online Safety Bill, some types of advertising will be in scope. This includes posts by influencers and posts by companies on their social media feeds. Companies will therefore need to ensure that these posts do not host illegal content. The Bill is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny and we will consider all recommendations from the Joint Committee when they report.

Ofcom: Recruitment

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of on 8 November 2021 to Question 71330 on Ofcom: Recruitment, how many staff on a FTE basis Ofcom has employed to support its duties under the Telecoms Security Bill as at 6 April 2021.

Julia Lopez: The Ofcom security budget for this financial year has been increased by £4.6 million. This funding will allow Ofcom to more than double the number of staff working on telecoms security by April 2022 by hiring around 30 FTE. This includes hiring a multi-skilled team including technical, enforcement and legal experts.

Football Index: Compensation

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a compensation scheme in order to grant financial redress to customers of Football Index.

Chris Philp: The government appreciates the significant impact that the collapse of the novel gambling product Football Index had on former customers. BetIndex, the company which operated Football Index, went into liquidation on 5 November. The process is continuing and it is likely that this will result in some amounts being reimbursed to creditors. There is no compensation scheme for losses caused by a gambling firm ceasing to operate and the government does not think it would be appropriate to use public funds for these purposes.

House of Commons Commission

Parliamentary Estate: Coronavirus

Mrs Maria Miller: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many confirmed positive covid-19 tests there have been among Parliamentary pass holders who work on the Parliamentary estate for each of the last 10 weeks; and what estimate the House Authorities have made of the number of Parliamentary pass holders who were working on the Parliamentary estate for each of the last 10 weeks.

Sir Charles Walker: Following further review of cases linked to the estate, UKHSA have identified 143 positive cases occurring between the 4th October–16th November. However, due to delays in reporting, additional cases may yet be identified that tested positive between 12th November and 16th November.This review identified that over 50% of positive cases had not been reported by members of the Parliamentary community to the Parliamentary test and trace team.Data recorded by the House is held solely for the purpose of supporting test and trace and is only recorded for 21 days where an individual notifies us.Details on weekly cases are held for the last five weeks only following the UKHSA review. The maximum number of passholders working on the estate for any day in the relevant week are included for the equivalent periods.WeekPositive CasesMaximum daily number of passholders5/11 – 11/1120401829/10 – 4/1128436422/10 – 28/1043439815/10 – 21/1021450408/10 – 14/1012315801/10 – 07/10 220424/09 – 30/09 210817/09 – 23/09 364410/09 – 16/09 428003/09 – 09/09 4261